My Dark Secret
by Sai the Super Saiyan
Summary: A Decepticon vessel crashes on Earth, revealing a femme and changing Optimus Prime's life. Yet she carries a dark secret, one the Decepticons want, one that could tear them apart... SEQUEL OF THE ONE I LOVE. WARNING: CONTAINS VERY GRAPHIC, DARK SCENES.
1. Prologue

"_Emergency! Emergency! Ship's hull compromised!_" the alarm system's voice droned over the loudspeaker. Decepticons ran all around, desperately trying to figure out exactly _what _had compromised the ship's hull. Not a single one of them cared about the cargo that they'd been ordered to defend with their lives; a single stasis pod, taken from the wreckage of an Autobot vessel that they'd attacked and destroyed. Their thoughts, however, were true; if they figured out what had compromised their ship, the Decepticons could then take it out, patch the hole in their ship's hull, and keep the stasis pod in their hands until they got to their lord and master, Megatron.

Another explosion wracked the ship, and a shout rang out. Something in front of the ship opened – a Space Bridge – just as it was hit again, and there was many a cry before the ship plummeted through the portal… and broke apart in the atmosphere of the blue planet below where they'd appeared. There were cries of horror, and then everything went silent as the part with the stasis pod in it plummeted to the planet's surface, slamming hard into a rock wall and killing or seriously injuring everyone on board.

About an hour later, those who had been gravely wounded succumbed to energon loss, leaving absolutely no survivors… except for the person in the stasis pod, who had not been troubled at all during the crash. Inside the pod, a scarlet and silver femme rested inside, her eyes closed and her face peaceful. On her left shoulder was a shiny symbol, one that was different to the symbols on the Decepticons. It marked her as a prisoner of war.

The femme inside the stasis pod was an Autobot.

Unbeknownst to her, she'd also been found by a small group of Cybertronians, each one bearing the same symbol as her, which marked them as fellow Autobots. However, they were not alone. Three humans – a sixteen year old boy, a fifteen year old girl, and a twelve year old boy – were sitting on the shoulders of their respective guardians (except for the older boy, who was standing next to his), each looking at the stasis pod in curiosity.

The girl suddenly jumped from the shoulder of her guardian, then walked over to the stasis pod and crossed her arms. Then she looked back at the group of Autobots and said, "So… what is it?"

Her guardian frowned. "Miko, it's a stasis pod."

Miko grinned. "Then can you guys open it?" she asked as the younger boy jumped off of the shoulders of his guardian, the yellow and black Autobot, and walked over, followed by the older boy. "I mean, it's an _Autobot_ stasis pod, yes?" she asked, looking at the tallest Autobot, who simply did nothing but stare at the stasis pod grimly.

Miko's guardian nodded. "Yes, but…" He looked over at the Autobot leader and frowned. "Are we actually going to open it?"

The Autobot leader nodded. "We have no choice. The one contained within may have some information about the Decepticons."

Miko grinned. "Cool!" she said, extremely jovial. "So, when are we going to open it?" She looked at all of the Autobots around, her face falling when she saw that each one of them was still wearing a monotone expression, except for her guardian, who had a nervous expression on his face instead. "Uh… we're not opening it here, are we?" she asked, scratching the back of her head.

The Autobots' medic shook his head. "No. We need to make sure that the bot inside is in a safe, Decepticon-free location," he said, sounding quite grumpy as he spoke. Then again, he was almost always grumpy. He was, however, a good person, and the best medic the Autobots had. He was cherished among them, as a friend and as family.

"So," the only female Autobot said suddenly, walking over and kneeling down next to the stasis pod. "Who's going to carry it?"

Miko looked back at her guardian. "Bulkhead?" she asked, just as everyone else looked over at him. Nervously the bot scratched his head, but sighed and agreed to carry it. After all, they were only going to the Autobot base, which was merely a Ground Bridge away.

Bulkhead picked the stasis pod up, then the medic pulled out a remote. He'd only recently developed a remote control for the Ground Bridge, but this was the first time he was ever putting it to use, so he was nervous (although he would neither show nor admit it). However, the remote worked perfectly; when he pressed the button, a Ground Bridge leading back to the Autobot base opened, and the group walked into it, only to find themselves back in familiar surroundings. As soon as he could, Bulkhead put the pod down, making sure that none of the medic's equipment was lying around; otherwise he would get chewed out for breaking something.

"So!" Miko said as she ran over to the stasis pod and banged on it, much to the disgruntlement of the others. "How do we open this thing?"

The Autobot leader stepped forward and knelt down, looking closely at the pod. His eyes – a vibrant turquoise – took in every single detail of the pod before he finally reached forward and pressed an unseen button. Immediately a hissing noise filled the air, and the Autobot leader gently pushed Miko back a few paces as the stasis pod opened, revealing the sleeping femme inside. There was a collective gasp from everyone as they looked at the femme, who was almost the exact same colour as one of their enemies – a Decepticon medic known as Knockout.

"Woah," the older of the human boys said as he walked over and observed the sleeping femme. However, whatever he was about to say next was never spoken, for it was the Autobot medic who noticed the tear in her side. His eyes widened in horror as he, along with all the others, realised that the femme had been injured immediately before she'd been put into stasis.

"By the Allspark," the medic hissed, his optics blazing with fury, "Why did they not bother to treat her?" He looked at his fellow Autobots and the three human kids. "I mean, if they were taking her to Megatron…"

He was cut off when Bulkhead huffed, "I doubt he cares if she is injured or not. He probably just wants her for information." He looked over at the medic. "Can you patch her up, Ratchet?"

Ratchet looked absolutely offended. "Of course!" he scoffed, unamused by Bulkhead's lack of faith in his ability as a medic. Then he sighed and shook his head. "But we're dangerously low on energon… I may not be able to restore what she has lost."

The leader of the Autobots shook his head slowly. "Aid her as much as you can," he ordered. His words _seemed _normal; his tone was one of monotony, something that was perfectly ordinary for him. But Ratchet couldn't help but wonder if something else had just driven his old friend to speak those words… But he decided that it was better not to ask. Whatever it had been that had caused the Autobot leader to say that, it was something that Ratchet would figure out in good time.

"Alright, Optimus, I'll do it," Ratchet declared, and Optimus nodded as he stood and walked away, the others watching him as he walked away. It was then that the medic realised that he was not the only one to have noticed that something was off with Optimus' words. "Arcee, Bumblebee, Bulkhead," the doctor barked, in an effort to divert their attention off of Optimus. It worked; the three turned to look at him, their expressions confused. "Take the kids and get them home," he said nonchalantly, not alluding to what Optimus had said.

Arcee nodded, then cast an eye over to the femme who was still under stasis. "What about her?"

Ratchet shook his head. "You don't worry about her!" he growled, and Arcee nodded curtly before transforming into her alternate mode, a blue motorcycle, and telling the older boy to hop on. He took one more look at the sleeping femme before donning his motorcycle helmet and getting on Arcee, only for her to drive off before he was ready. Bulkhead and Bumblebee did the same thing, with Miko and the younger boy hopping into the passenger seat of their respective guardians before both bots drove off.

When they were finally gone, Ratchet gave a relieved sigh; he could finally work in peace. He turned around then to grab some tools he could use to patch the femme up, only to receive the shock of his life when he turned around to repair her…

Only to find that her eyes were open, staring right at him.

"You… are an Autobot, are you not?" the femme asked, her cyan optics piercing into his very spark. He couldn't remember the last time he'd encountered such chilling eyes, especially on a femme. "Where am I?" the femme asked, not giving Ratchet any time to answer her previous question.

"Hold it," he said, frowning at her as she opened her mouth to ask yet another question. She immediately fell quiet, allowing Ratchet to say, "My name is Ratchet. I'm an Autobot field medic."

The femme nodded. "I am Vesper." Then she frowned. "If I am not a prisoner of Megatron… does that mean you and your companions rescued me?" She looked at Ratchet, cocking her head to the side, awaiting his answer.

Ratchet rubbed his servo and looked away. "Well… not quite," he said. Vesper frowned and went to stand, only to cringe and whimper as pain shot though her side. Ratchet immediately tut-tutted her, waggling his finger. "You shouldn't move, I haven't repaired you yet!" he chastised, holding up the tool he'd grabbed earlier. Vesper looked at it, her face filled with hardness; it was clear that she was extremely wary. Then her face softened.

"Thank you, sir," she said. Ratchet blinked, not used to being called sir, but shrugged it off and went to repairing her. Soon enough Vesper was fighting fit, but Ratchet told her to not do anything too strenuous until he authorised it, which she was happy enough to accept. Ratchet, secretly, was relieved that she was compliant enough to listen to the doctor's orders. "By the way, sir," Vesper said after a few moments of walking around, "You never explained who rescued me."

Ratchet sighed. "Truth be told, Vesper," he said, looking away from her as he put his operating tools on a nearby bench, "You weren't rescued."

Vesper's cyan optics widened. "Then… what happened? How did I end up here?"

Ratchet sighed, but before he could answer, a familiar voice said, "The Decepticon vessel you were on crash-landed, and we recovered your stasis pod from it." Both Ratchet and Vesper turned to see Optimus standing there, his face completely neutral. Ratchet could, however, tell that Optimus was strained, but the medic wisely said nothing.

"Ah, that clears some things up," Vesper said, her voice light and cheerful. Then she looked at Optimus with a frown on her face. "Is something wrong, sir?" she asked.

Optimus shook his head a little too fast. "No," he stated bluntly before turning on his heel and hurrying away. Ratchet frowned and stroked his chin, confused with Optimus' odd behaviour. However, he said nothing about it. Instead, he looked over at Vesper and told her that he would assign her a room.

"Is there something wrong with your leader?" Vesper asked as they walked down the hallway that lead to each Autobot's sleeping quarters. Ratchet said nothing, so Vesper sighed. "Doctor, I used to work in Iacon as a data analyst. I—"

"Did you work with a bot called Orion Pax?" Ratchet blurted out, immediately regretting it.

Vesper looked at him curiously, then shook her head. "No, I did not. However, Alpha Trion always held Orion in high esteem. He was the head data clerk, after all, even though he was only my age."

Ratchet looked at her and frowned. "You speak as if he's one with the Allspark."

Vesper sighed. "As far as anyone is concerned, Orion Pax _is_ dead."

Ratchet was surprised by Vesper's bluntness. However, he said nothing as he finally reached an empty room. "This will be your room," he said, a small smile on his face. "Make yourself comfortable, and I'll introduce you to the others when they return."

"One question," Vesper asked just as Ratchet returned to leave. He looked back over his shoulder at the femme, who rubbed her upper arm. "Why are the others not here?"

Ratchet shook his head. "They're on curb-side duty."

Vesper cocked her head to the side, not understanding, but she said nothing. Instead she nodded, and Ratchet let her be as the door closed. Then he turned around and walked down the hall, stopping at a door that was a few metres around the hall. He raised his hand to knock, but then he stopped. A sigh escaped his lips, and then his hand fell to his side as he turned away. He walked towards his own room, stopping in front of the door as it slid open. He looked back at the door he'd wanted to knock on briefly before shaking his head and walking into his room, his door closing behind him.


	2. Chapter 1

Vesper opened her eyes slowly as she finally drew herself out of stasis nap. She sat up feeling absolutely exhausted, then looked around. While her surroundings were still mostly unfamiliar to her, she understood that the events of the previous night were not a figment of her imagination. This caused her to sigh as she stood, then looked at her injured side. The patch job Ratchet had done had held nicely, and she smiled as she stretched, being mindful of the wound as she did so, before she walked out of her room and into the main room of the Autobot base. Only Ratchet was there, monitoring the systems, and he looked up as she approached.

"Good morning, Vesper," he said, his voice gruff. She said nothing about his tone, but instead gave him a polite good morning in return before she walked around, taking in her surroundings a bit better. A tall building with majority of the systems in the middle, she noted. There were scraps and pieces of equipment everywhere, and Vesper noticed that there were a few pieces of equipment that were horribly crushed. She frowned as she picked a crushed tool up, only for Ratchet to loudly say, "Epp epp epp epp!" as he strode over and took the tool from her hand. "Don't touch that, it's already broken enough!"

"Who broke it? It is an important medical tool that no medic – field or otherwise – can do without," Vesper said, her voice still calm, although she was a bit alarmed at Ratchet's tone, and she was also amused at his little verbal tic.

"Ugh, puh-lease!" Ratchet growled as he set the tool down nearby. "I already know that!"

Vesper sighed; it was clear that the medic was grumpy about being peppered with questions. So she decided not to say another thing about his medical tools and instead said, "I am going back to the Decepticon vessel that was carrying me."

"Absolutely not!" Ratchet whipped around and shook his head. "Those 'Cons might still be looking for you!" Vesper gave him a pointed look and crossed her arms over her chassis, then started to tap her foot. Ratchet tried to stand up to her, but then he sighed. "Oh, fine!" he scowled, looking away from Vesper. "But at least wait until Optimus wakes."

Vesper frowned. "The Prime?" she asked, her voice tentative. Ratchet frowned, detecting a slight waver that would not have been obvious to anyone else; it was a similar waver to the one he'd detected in Optimus' voice. "He… seems to be very unsure around me." She looked away and rubbed her upper arm. "I… do not think it would be wise for him and I to—"

"Epp epp epp!" Ratchet barked again. "Nonsense! You and he will go together."

Vesper shook her head. "I will not go with someone who does not like me! I—"

"I am sorry for implying that," Optimus suddenly said, shocking the both of them. He had a small smile on his face, and he walked over and held out his hand. "My name is Optimus Prime, and I am the leader of the Autobots."

Vesper looked sceptically at the outstretched hand, then smiled and took it. "I am Vesper, a data analyst. It is my honour, sir." Then she shook her head. "But I will not put more lives in danger for a simple code that happens to be lodged in my processor." She tapped her temple. "Please, sir, permit me to—"

Optimus shook his head. "Absolutely not, Vesper," he said, his voice low and concerned. "I will not permit the Decepticons to get their hands on you."

Vesper sighed and looked away, tapping her foot. However, she never got to say anything more, for she heard the sound of engines rolling, and the three of them turned around to see three vehicles – an olive green armoured car, a custom-painted yellow and black muscle car, and a blue motorcycle with the older teenage boy sitting on it – arriving. The three humans got out (and in the older boy's case, got off) of their vehicles and walked over. Miko looked curiously at Vesper, who raised her eyebrow as she regarded the three Earth natives.

"These are natives of this planet?" she asked, looking at Ratchet and Optimus, who both nodded at exactly the same time. "They are so small and… fleshy," she said, her tone not disdainful.

"This is Miko," Ratchet said, gesturing at the girl, who smiled and waved. Vesper nodded as Ratchet gestured to the younger of the two boys. "This is Rafael," he said, and Raf gave a small smile to Vesper. Finally, Ratchet turned to the older boy and said, "And this is Jack."

"Uh… hi there," Jack said, looking up at Vesper and smiling. "It's nice to see you up and about."

Vesper nodded. "I am taking it, then, that you three natives were present when my stasis pod was brought here?" she asked. Jack nodded, and then Vesper turned to Ratchet and asked, "And the three Autobots I do not know?" she asked.

Arcee stepped forward and held out her arm. "I'm Arcee. It's good to have another femme here."

Vesper took Arcee's hand a little more warmly than she had taken Optimus'. "Well met, Arcee."

Bulkhead then stepped forward, Bumblebee close behind him. "I'm Bulkhead, the resident Wrecker of the group, and this here is Bumblebee," he said, gesturing at the yellow and black Autobot. Bumblebee, in response, said something in his beeps and bops. Vesper understood what he had said – a simple 'hello' – but she couldn't believe that he had not spoken to her using his voice. As if sensing her thoughts, Bulkhead sighed and said, "His voice-box was crushed… irreparably damaged."

"My sympathies," Vesper said, putting her hand on Bumblebee's shoulder. Then she sighed. "Now that I have been introduced to all of you, it is time I introduced myself. I," she said, smiling, "Am named Vesper."

"Vesper?" Arcee said, frowning.

Vesper nodded. "Indeed. Do you recognise my name?" she asked, confused.

Arcee nodded. "You were an excellent data analyst at Iacon, from what I've been told. I—"

"Iacon?" Optimus said, interrupting Arcee. "You are from Iacon?" he asked, completely ignoring the look that Arcee was giving him. Vesper nodded in confirmation of Optimus' question, to which he nodded and said, "I see," before walking away.

"Geez, what's crawled up his tailpipe and died?" Arcee said sourly. Her only response was a mere sigh from Ratchet, so she shrugged and continued. "I had heard quite a lot about you during the war, but I believed you offline when Iacon was invaded."

Vesper sighed. "I was not at Iacon at the time of its invasion." She shook her head. "I was… transporting a special code… and I still have not completed my mission. They may have extracted the code from my processor when I was in stasis." She shook her head. "That is why it is absolutely imperative that I get back to the Decepticon vessel that was transporting me to Megatron!"

Ratchet nodded. "Once Optimus returns to us, then we shall send a team—"

"Sweet!" Miko said suddenly, causing everyone to look at her. "So when are we going?"

Ratchet raised an eyebrow. "A team of _Autobots_," he said, putting particular emphasis on the final word. Miko groaned, but Ratchet ignored her as Optimus walked back out. Instead, he said to the Autobot leader, "Are you right to take Vesper back to the Decepticon vessel?"

Optimus nodded with no hesitation. "Of course." He looked over at Vesper. "Are you ready to go?" he asked. Vesper nodded, although she did feel her spark flutter as she met Optimus' eyes, and she quickly looked away. "Ratchet, open the Ground Bridge," she heard Optimus say, and then she looked up just as the bridge – a weaker version of the Space Bridge technology of Cybertron – opened, and Optimus stepped towards it. He stopped in front of it and turned to look at Vesper, who realised that he was asking her silently if she was coming, and she nodded as she walked forward. Then the two of them walked into the Ground Bridge, and soon found themselves at the site of the Decepticon crash site.

Vesper walked forward and looked around at the crash site. "This vessel… is a cargo ship." Vesper turned to Optimus to notice that he was looking down at the ground, his hands clenched into fists. "Sir?" she asked as she walked over, frowning. "Is something the matter?"

Optimus did not speak. Instead he slowly shook his head, then turned and almost ran away. Vesper frowned, but she said nothing. Instead she found her eyes lingering on his aft, and then she blinked as she realised what she was doing. She shook her head and turned away, heading back towards the crashed vessel. She stepped inside the door – which had been wrenched open; never a good sign – and looked around. Most of the equipment was damaged, she saw, but one computer was still online. How did she know?

Because there was someone standing in front of it.

Vesper suppressed a gasp and ducked behind a nearby metal sheet that happened to be jutting out. Her cyan optics took in every detail of the one standing before the computer as she peered out, and she couldn't help but notice what was on the monitor of the computer. Her optics widened as she saw the access code that was only supposed to be in her head, and she cursed the Decepticons. Like she had believed earlier, they had extracted the code from her head while she'd been in stasis.

"Lord Megatron," she heard the figure in front of the monitor say, "I have located the access code." She didn't hear the reply on the other end, but there was absolutely no way that she was allowing Megatron to get his hands on the access code that she had worked so hard to keep from the Decepticons. However, the access code would be pointless… unless they had the weapon that Vesper knew was hidden on this very planet.

"They have to have the weapon… that is the only reason they would be seeking me so badly…," Vesper breathed, but then she heard a curious noise come from the Decepticon in front of the monitor, and her optics widened as she ducked behind the sheet of metal again. "Oh no…," she breathed, not sure if she had been seen or heard.

"Lord Megatron, I believe that there's someone with me," the Decepticon said, then went silent as he was told something. "Of course, Lord Megatron. The codes shall be yours."

"I do not think so," Vesper hissed before stepping out, shocking the Decepticon and making him stumble back. "I will not allow that code to fall into Megatron's servos," she said, louder so that the Decepticon could hear, as she transformed her right servo into an energon blaster.

The Decepticon snarled at her. "You must be the Autobot data analyst that was carrying the code," he hissed, his red optics narrowing. "I was wondering where you were; Lord Megatron was… annoyed that you weren't delivered."

Vesper scowled. "I do not care about him. I just will not allow the code that was entrusted to me to—augh!" she cried as the Decepticon leapt at her and tried to attack her with a buzz-saw. She jumped back and turned her left servo into a blade weapon. Then she ducked underneath the buzz-saw again and slashed out at the Decepticon, scratching his shiny red paint that was only a few shades darker than her own paint job.

"You…!" the Decepticon hissed, shocked, as he looked down at the scratch on his chest. Then he looked back up at Vesper and yelled, "You ruined my paint job!"

Vesper rolled her eyes. "I do not care about your paint job!" she scowled as she pointed her blaster at him. "All I care about it—ahhhhhhhhh!" she screamed as the Decepticon jumped towards her, buzz-saw out, and jammed the weapon deep into her shoulder. Then the Decepticon pulled the buzz-saw out and grabbed something – Vesper noticed that it was an energon prod – from nearby, then jabbed her in the stomach with it. She howled in agony, her optics rolling back in her head as she crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

The Decepticon smiled as he kneeled down next to Vesper. "Now that that is taken care of, I will transport you to Lord Megatron," he said, picking the unconscious femme up and turning around… only to get punched in the face by a very angry Autobot. He flew backwards, dropping Vesper on the ground as he did, and slammed into a wall. When he looked up, he said, "Oh for Allspark's sake, I—" but cut himself off when he met the blazingly furious optics of Optimus Prime.

"How dare you," Optimus hissed, his eyes narrowing as he grabbed the Decepticon's face. "How dare you hurt her!" he roared, picking the Decepticon up and throwing him out of the ship, punching a hole in the ship's hull as he did so. Then he moved to go after the 'Con, but he stopped himself as he heard Vesper cough. He immediately strode over and helped the femme to sit up as she clutched at her damaged shoulder. "Vesper?" he breathed.

Vesper looked up at him. "Op-Optim-mus…?" she choked, then coughed again. Optimus nodded, unsure of what to say, and Vesper smiled weakly. "You… need to er-erase… the c-code…" She shakily lifted her arm and pointed at the online monitor before her optics rolled back into her head and she became limp. Optimus gently set her down on the ground before standing and walking over to the code. A simple check revealed that the code had not been copied from the computer at all, so he quickly deleted it. Then he turned around and strode over to Vesper, who seemed to be very weak.

"Ratchet," he said as he opened a communication link to the Autobot base, "I need a Ground Bridge open." He then gently trailed his fingers along Vesper's cheek before hastily jerking his hand away. But he didn't say anything else as the Ground Bridge opened, and he gently picked Vesper up before turning towards the Bridge and heading into it.

When he returned to the base, Ratchet immediately instructed Optimus to lay Vesper on the operating table. He did so and stepped away so that the medic could see the damage, and a slight hiss escaped Ratchet's lips as he noticed that Vesper had lost an enormous amount of energon. The medic knew that he would not be able to replace her lost energon, due to their extremely low energon stores, but he also knew that he had to do everything in his power to save the femme.

"Optimus," he said, gaining the attention of everyone, not just Optimus, "I can patch her up, but we have critically low energon stores already… I may not be able to replenish what she has lost."

Optimus was mute for a few minutes. Then, "Vesper mentioned that the Decepticon vessel was a cargo ship."

Arcee looked between the Autobot leader and the Autobot medic. "That must mean that there is at least _some_ energon remaining on board, right?" She looked at all of her fellow Autobots, then at the humans. "I mean, every decent cargo ship has—"

"Arcee," Bulkhead said, his voice gentle, "The Decepticons could have searched the wreckage first."

Arcee hung her head, realising that Bulkhead was right. "I'm sorry for getting all our hopes up," she said, her voice soft as she looked at poor Vesper. "Please, Ratchet, we can't afford to lose another Autobot."

Ratchet nodded. "I will do everything in my power," he said, his voice soft, as he got to repairing the unconscious Autobot femme.

Arcee nodded, then looked over to where Optimus had been standing before… only to notice that he was gone. She frowned, then looked over at Jack and said, "Did you see where he went?"

Jack pointed towards the area where the Autobot quarters were. "He muttered something unintelligible under his breath, then walked off… Is something wrong with him?" he asked, looking at his companions.

Each and every single person in the room – minus Ratchet and Vesper – looked in the direction Optimus had gone. "I don't know," Raf said sadly after a few minutes of silence.

However, there was one person who knew what was wrong with Optimus. It was the Prime himself. In his own room, he was sitting on his berth, holding his head within his hands. There was something eating him from the inside, but he had no idea what it was. All he knew was that, whenever he looked at Vesper, his spark skipped a beat and he felt fiercely protective of her. All he wanted to do was hold her in his arms and tell her that he would keep her safe amidst this fierce war between Autobot and Decepticon.

A knock at his door startled him out of his thoughts, and he straightened up just as the door opened to reveal Arcee, Raf and Bumblebee. Optimus tried to smile at them, but he found that he was unable to, so he simply looked away instead.

"Optimus?" Raf asked, walking over and putting his small hand on Optimus' leg. The Prime looked down at him, a sad look to his optics, and Raf sighed. "You have to tell us what's bothering you."

Optimus frowned, but before he could speak, Bumblebee cut him off with his beeping, which caused him to look up at his Autobot friends. Arcee nodded in agreement, saying, "Bumblebee's right. There is something eating at you. This strange behaviour of yours is highly concerning."

"Please, Optimus," Raf said, drawing Optimus' attention. "We're all concerned for you."

Optimus felt his spark slow, and both his processor and his voice-box seemed to malfunction, as he had difficulty even thinking of any words to say, let alone force himself to say them. When he tried many a time to speak and failed to, he simply shook his head and looked away. This prompted Bumblebee to reach out, grab Optimus' arm, and beep something.

"I… I…," Optimus said, each time sounding like he had something lodged in his voice-box, "I cannot tell you… what I do not know."

"Wait," Arcee said, frowning, as Bumblebee released Optimus. "What do you mean?"

"I do not know what I mean!" Optimus suddenly shouted, resulting in the base going silent. Optimus, when he realised what he'd done, looked at the faces of each of his friends, his optics wide with horror and shock. "I… I am sorry for shouting… I just—"

Arcee raised her servo, then shook her head. "Don't explain. We'll just leave you in peace," she said. Then she turned to Bumblebee and Raf. "Let's go," she said, her voice completely monotone as she walked out of the room. Bumblebee chirped something before leaving, but it was Raf who lingered for a few more minutes before following them out. However, just before he did, he stopped at the door and looked back at Optimus, who refused to meet the boy's eyes.

"Optimus," Raf said sadly, although the bot didn't acknowledge that he'd heard, "I… Never mind." He turned and left, leaving Optimus alone with his thoughts…

And with feelings that he did not understand.


	3. Chapter 2

Vesper woke to an incredible pain in her shoulder, and she whimpered before she realised that she was on an operating table. There was, however, nobody around except for Ratchet, who was quietly working on something nearby. She did not want to trouble him, so she sat up as quietly as she could, although a hiss of pain escaped her lips, which drew the doctor's attention. He turned to look at her, and his blue optics regarded her with silence monotony. Immediately Vesper stiffened, then looked away, feeling ashamed for some reason.

"Vesper," Ratchet said, his voice quiet and calm. She looked over at him, a feeling of dread blooming in her spark. He strode over, placing his servo on her shoulder, and said, "Are you feeling well?"

Vesper looked up at him, shocked. "Am I feeling well?" she repeated, and Ratchet nodded. She sat, gaping, before closing her mouth and nodding briskly. "I am feeling fine. Thank you for your concern, Doctor, but," she said as she slowly stood and walked past the medic, "I think that it would best if I left you and your companions."

"Is that what you think?" Ratchet said quietly, stopping her in her tracks. She looked over her shoulder and looked at the medic, who was shaking his head in disapproval. His eyes had become as steely as the material all Cybertronians were made out of, and he strode over and stood in front of the femme, crossing his arms over his chassis. "Now you turn around, look at me, and listen closely," he said, his voice sounding very cross. For a few brief moments, Vesper considered disobeying the orders of the doctor, but then she sighed and turned around painfully slowly. Ratchet sighed and shook his head. "Arcee wants to talk to you. She says that something is troubling Optimus, and that you," he said, looking pointedly into her eyes, "Are the most likely cause."

Vesper was about to argue, but then something made her close her mouth and look away. She realised that the assumption that Arcee had told Ratchet about was most likely correct. She knew that Primes were supposed to be calm and collected, not strained and tense. She also knew – from the body language of Ratchet – that Optimus Prime was not acting completely normal. His words had just confirmed what she'd been seeing.

She rubbed her shoulder and sighed. "Fine. Where is Arcee? I will speak to her before I leave." She turned to go, but Ratchet stepped forward and grabbed her arm in his servo. She looked back at him. "It is obvious to me that I have caused many a problem for you Autobots, problems that you do not need." She sighed and looked down at the ground. "You have many problems, and I only make them worse… as well as cause more."

Ratchet sighed. "Arcee is located in the town that is just down the road from the base," he said. Then he frowned and looked Vesper up and down, who was still sporting her Cybertronian design rather than an Earth-based design. "But you certainly can't go there looking like that!"

Vesper looked at her body. "Do I need an Earth-based alternate mode?" she asked. Ratchet nodded, pleased that the femme had caught on so quickly. Vesper sighed and nodded. "Where may I scan one?" she asked, her tone quiet.

Ratchet looked over just as Miko and Bulkhead walked in, talking animatedly to each other. Both of them, however, fell completely silent when Ratchet focused on them. They shared a worried look, then Miko stepped forward and asked, "Why are you looking at us like that?"

Bulkhead frowned, then looked up at Vesper. "Is she going to meet Arcee soon?"

Ratchet nodded. "Yes, she is. However, she needs _you two_," he said, pointedly looking at both the human girl and the Wrecker, "To help her pick a suitable alternate mode for her."

Miko looked between Ratchet and Vesper, then sighed and crossed her arms. "Okay, fine. We'll help." She looked at Vesper, who sighed and looked at her damaged shoulder. Miko's face softened as she walked up to the scarlet-coloured femme. "Hey, it's okay Vesper. We'll find you a suitable alternate mode," she said cheerfully. Then her eyes narrowed as she scrutinised the femme. Vesper felt cold underneath Miko's gaze, but then the girl grinned and said, "Your alternate mode is a car!"

This resulted in a facepalm from both Bulkhead and Ratchet, and a small smile from Vesper. "Yes. I have never been one for two wheeled alternate modes," she said, then frowned. "No offence to Arcee, of course."

Miko nodded. "Cool. Now, let's go!" she said. Bulkhead rolled his eyes, but took both Miko and Vesper to a rocky outcrop, one that overlooked a freeway. A few cars drove here and there, including one that Vesper took a fancy to. Her eyes immediately took in every detail of the car, and once she was satisfied with her choice, she turned to Bulkhead and Miko.

"Thank you for assisting me in finding a suitable alternate mode for Earth," she said as they left the outcrop. As soon as they reached the road to Jasper, Vesper transformed into a scarlet 2006 WM Holden Caprice and, after thanking Miko and Bulkhead once again for their assistance, was about to drive off when Miko stopped her. "Is something wrong?" Vesper asked, feeling a little bit nervous. "Is there another Earth custom that must be observed in order for me to fit in during my stay on this planet?"

"Yeah… road rules," Bulkhead said, confusing Vesper, who transformed back into robot mode.

"Road rules?" she asked, looking between the Cybertronian and the Earthling.

Miko nodded. "Yeah. Every driver needs to learn them in order to be safe on the roads."

"That means," Bulkhead cut in, "That we need to learn them in order to fit in and not harm anyone." He sighed and shook his head. "Look, I'll—"

Vesper smiled. "Please just give me a run through of the basic ones I will need to know in order to get to the meeting spot safely," she said, and Bulkhead nodded before telling her which side of the road to stay on, what to do at traffic lights depending what colour they were, and so forth. When she was finally briefed, Vesper retransformed and headed towards Jasper, Nevada, not realising that she was being watched by more than just Bulkhead and Miko.

Optimus stood on the very top of the missile silo that served as the Autobot base. He watched as Vesper drove towards Jasper, and he sighed as he leaned against the wall. Then he squeezed his optics shut. He couldn't believe that he'd been acting odd to the point where the others were suspecting something, but to hear that Arcee believed that it was Vesper's fault? That pushed it over the line. While it was true to a point – Vesper was most definitely the reason for his odd behaviour – he didn't really want to tell anyone until he figured out what he was actually going through.

"I need to speak to Ratchet about this," Optimus declared to himself as he walked back over to the lift that would take him back down to the interior of the base. As soon as he was inside he went to find Ratchet and he soon found him, typing away on one of the many monitors that were inside the base. "Ratchet, old friend," he said, his voice just loud enough to catch Ratchet's attention. The medic turned and looked Optimus up and down, smiling just a little as Optimus approached.

"Hello, Optimus," the doctor said, then frowned. "Is… something bothering you?" he asked, looking Optimus up and down. The Prime hesitated for a few seconds, then forced himself to nod. This confused Ratchet, who told him to take a seat on the medical table. Optimus sighed as he obliged, but told Ratchet that there was nothing physically wrong with him. This confused the medic, who asked, "Then if it's not physical… are you emotionally or mentally troubled?"

"I… You must have heard me yell last night," Optimus said, his voice strained and his optics trained on the floor. "Arcee, Bumblebee and Rafael… they tried to talk to me, and they asked me what was wrong…" He looked up at the medic tentatively. "But… I do not know."

Ratchet frowned. "You don't know… what?" he asked.

Optimus slowly shook his head. "I do not know what is wrong with me."

Ratchet seemed a little taken aback by this. "E-Excuse me?" he gaped as he strode over and put his servo on the Prime's shoulder. "Optimus, why didn't you—"

"I'm confused, Ratchet," Optimus said, his voice even more strained and choked. "Every time I look at… at _her_… my spark seems to skip a beat…" He looked down at the floor again, his servos clenching. This caused Ratchet to sigh as he sat down next to the Prime. "Yesterday… when she was attacked… I felt anger. Rage, even… more so than I feel when any of my friends are harmed… I have never felt this way before."

"Optimus, I—" Ratchet was cut off when an alarm started to blare, and both Optimus and the medic got to their feet and walked hastily over to the monitor. Ratchet immediately opened communications only to get a frantic distress call from Arcee.

"_Decepticons attacked… took us by surprise… Soundwave was with them… they have Vesper!_" she said, then the comm line abruptly shut off. Ratchet and Optimus, frozen to the spot, only managed to turn their heads to look at each other.

"Optimus, go," Ratchet said suddenly, walking over to the Ground Bridge's control system and opening a Bridge to the location of the others. "If you're feeling what I think you are… then you will do anything to find her and save her. You're the best chance Vesper has."

Optimus nodded before transforming into his alternate mode – a custom-painted red and blue semi-truck – and drove into the Ground Bridge, soon finding himself with Arcee, who had been the only one with Vesper at the time of the attack. The other Autobots and even the human children showed up soon after, after he'd transformed back into robot mode, and while he was getting details about the attack from the injured femme.

"I didn't even know that there were Decepticons around… it was like they expected us to be here…," she breathed, and Optimus nodded as he stood. Then he turned to the others and instructed them to head back to base, only for Miko to object and say that she wanted to go with him (which, in turn, resulted in her getting a chastisement from Bulkhead).

"I want to go, though!" Miko complained, but Bulkhead shook his head.

"I cannot allow you to be in harm's way," Optimus said, his voice kindly when he spoke. He never even wanted humans to get involved, but now that they were, he had vowed to do everything in his power to protect them… which was a little difficult when all Miko wanted to do was come along into danger every time.

"Don't forget, Optimus," Jack said, walking over to the robot, "We've been on the Decepticon vessel before."

Optimus nodded. "I am aware of that, Jack," he said. "But nobody is coming with me." He immediately opened a comm line to Ratchet and said, "Open a Ground Bridge back to base."

As soon as one did, Bumblebee picked Arcee up, who was semi-conscious, and Optimus' companions entered the Bridge. Then the Prime waited until the Bridge was closed before he turned back into truck form and drove off, having received coordinates of the _Nemesis_, the Decepticon vessel that the Decepticon leader, Megatron, currently commanded. It was landed at the moment, allowing Optimus to sneak on board… provided he got there fast enough.

When he reached the vessel, he saw that it was still on the ground, and he thanked the Allspark for it. Vehicons – Decepticon troopers – were patrolling the area, but Optimus still somehow managed to sneak on board and through the hallways.

"Lord Megatron, she won't give us the access code," Optimus heard a voice say, and a scowl appeared on his face, as he neared a door. It was the exact same Decepticon that Optimus had thrown out of the crashed Decepticon vessel that Vesper had been found near. "She's impossible to crack."

"Then," Megatron's anger-filled voice rang through the corridor, "You are not trying hard enough!" Optimus shook his head, not wanting to listen anymore, and hurried away. He opened many doors, checked inside of them, but couldn't find Vesper no matter how much he tried. The only doors he'd not tried were the one to the control bridge and the one that lead to the room where Megatron and the other Decepticon had been talking. Grimacing, he snuck back towards the room where Megatron and the other Decepticon had been, only to hear Megatron say, "Knockout, we need that access code! I don't care if you have to rip her processor out to get it!"

Optimus' eyes widened in horror at Megatron's cruel words, but that horror was soon replaced with a burning rage that was even more intense than the one he'd felt at the crashed Decepticon cargo ship. He clenched his servos, trying to gain control of his anger; it would do him no good to foolishly run into the room and attempt to take down two Decepticons on his own.

The door opened suddenly, and Optimus quickly hid as Megatron and Knockout walked out, both still talking about Vesper. When they'd passed and were out of earshot, Optimus quickly dashed into the door, and his thoughts were immediately confirmed about the two being in the same room as Vesper.

She was hanging from the roof by chains, and it was clear that she had been brutally tortured. There were open wounds that dripped energon, and her eyes were dull, although it was clear that she was still somewhat conscious. Optimus felt his spark stop beating, and he felt as if he were in physical pain as he walked over and reached out. His fingers gently touched her cheek, and his turquoise optics took in every single dent and gash on her.

"Vesper," he whispered, his voice soft. A part of him hoped that she would hear him, but she barely responded. If he could cry, Optimus knew that tears would be welling up in his eyes right now. "I'm so sorry, Vesper," he breathed. "I should have gotten here sooner…"

"How touching," he heard someone say, and Optimus whipped around to see Megatron standing there, an evil smile on his face. Megatron's Fusion Cannon was pointed right at the Prime, who'd not even heard the door open. "She must hold a special place in your spark for you to come here all alone," Megatron hissed, his tone mocking as he spoke.

"What have you done to her?" Optimus said angrily, his tone making Megatron flinch and falter for the briefest of moments, as he transformed his servos into his blasters. "TELL ME WHAT YOU'VE DONE TO HER!" he roared as his faceplate slid over his mouth, and he leapt at Megatron, who tried to combat Optimus as he changed his blasters to blades, but Optimus still managed to almost slice Megatron's Fusion Cannon off. He landed on the ground and turned again, then leapt at Megatron before the Decepticon lord had any time to respond. This resulted in Megatron having one of Optimus' blades directly through his chest, dangerously close to his spark chamber. Energon dripped off of the end of Optimus' weapon, and his turquoise eyes were hard and dangerous as he pulled the blade out, letting Megatron drop to the floor and gasp in pain. But that wasn't the end of it. Optimus knelt down near Megatron and stabbed his shoulder, pinning him to the ground, before leaning close to the Decepticon's face. "Tell me what you did to her," he repeated, this time his voice low and cold.

Optimus swore that he saw the smallest sliver of fear flash in Megatron's eyes before the Decepticon warlord shook his head and snarled at the Prime. "Never."

Optimus' eyes went colder than they already were, but instead of killing Megatron there and then, the Prime simply grabbed an energon prodder from nearby and jabbed Megatron with it, knocking the Decepticon out. Then he pulled his blade from Megatron's shoulder and replaced it with his servo before walking over to Vesper, who was still limp and unmoving.

"Ratchet," he said over a communication line once he'd managed to get Vesper down, "I have Vesper in my care."

"_Good work Optimus! But we still have an issue_," the medic said, and Optimus frowned as he walked out of the room, hugging Vesper to his chest. "_There's a very powerful weapon on board the _Nemesis_, and it's the reason the Decepticons needed Vesper so much._"

"I will retrieve the weapon?" Optimus asked.

"_No_," Ratchet said. "_That weapon is far too destructive… and far too large for any Cybertronian to carry._"

"So my only option is to destroy it?" he asked.

"_Correct! However, you need to get Vesper back here. I will send the others to destroy the weapon_," he said, and Optimus nodded. "_All you need to do now is get out of the ship_."

Optimus nodded as his faceplate disappeared, but said nothing more as he snuck back out of the vessel, making sure that Vesper was safe. As soon as he was out of eyeshot from the _Nemesis_, a Ground Bridge opened up, and he strode in. It remained open once he stepped into the safety of the base, and he watched silently as the other Autobots gave him calm, assured looks before heading into the very Ground Bridge he'd just emerged from. The human kids looked at Optimus as he laid Vesper on Ratchet's medical table, then stepped back as the medic checked her over. Then Optimus stepped back as Ratchet immediately began scanning the unconscious femme.

Suddenly the comm system began to beep, but Optimus decided that it would be too troublesome for Ratchet to answer, so he answered instead only to see that it was Special Agent William Fowler, their military support. "Prime!" he shouted, his face furious, "If Bumblebee gets spotted on the internet again, I'm going to get my behind kicked by Uncle Sam!"

Optimus sighed and nodded. "I will see to it that the issue is taken care of," he said, looking out of his peripheral vision to notice that Raf was already working on it. When the reported image had been removed, Optimus looked back at Agent Fowler and said, "The image has been removed, and I will speak to Bumblebee as soon as he gets back from his mission."

Agent Fowler snorted, but then cut off communications without another word. Optimus sighed and looked down at Raf, who looked just as disappointed as he did, then looked up at Ratchet, who looked like he was almost finished with the repairs. However, Optimus knew that they were critically low on energon, and he also knew that Ratchet could no longer spare any for repairs such as this.

"Optimus," Ratchet said without turning to look at the Prime, "She's been beaten quite badly and has lost even more energon…" He sighed heavily, his shoulders slumping. "We have critically low stocks as it is, but she is in desperate need of a transfusion."

Optimus didn't know what to think. He shook his head and frowned, trying to think of what he could possibly do. Then a thought came to mind. "How about a transfusion from a donor?"

Ratchet turned to look at him. "Unfortunately, the amount of energon we need is too much. I'm afraid that a donation is not an option," he said, turning back to Vesper and getting back to work on her. Optimus sighed, feeling strangely like he'd failed Vesper. He turned and walked towards his room, but didn't actually manage to get there without finally breaking down. He roared and punched the wall, then slammed his head against it and started to tearlessly sob. He didn't even notice that Miko, Jack and Raf had approached until he felt a small hand touch his leg, and he looked down to notice the three human children looking up at him.

"Optimus…?" Miko tentatively asked, looking up at him with worried eyes. "Are you al—"

"No, I am not alright," Optimus said, a little too quickly. "I do not know what is going on and I just want to make sense of things!"

Miko, Jack and Raf shared a confused look before Raf looked back at the Autobot and said, "Maybe we can help."

Optimus was about to decline, but a part of him knew that the kids might have actually been able to help him. So he sighed and said, "It's about… Vesper."

Miko immediately blurted out, "You like her? Like, in a romantic way?" This was met by a blank stare from Optimus, a facepalm on Raf's end, and an eye roll from Jack. Miko rolled her eyes. "C'mon you gotta give me more than a blank stare."

"I… I… I am confused," Optimus admitted after a few more minutes of blank staring. He looked away sheepishly. "I am aware that my spark skips a beat or two every time I look at her, and—"

He was cut off by Ratchet shouting, "BULKHEAD, I NEEDED THAT!" in anger, and the four immediately ran out to find that Ratchet was now chastising Bulkhead. Arcee and Bumblebee were behind him, both looking like they didn't want to know the bulky Autobot, who was _still_ standing on whatever of Ratchet's tools he'd just crushed. Both Arcee and Bumblebee looked at Optimus and the human kids as they approached, and Ratchet groaned as Bulkhead took his foot off of the tool.

"Uh… sorry," Bulkhead said nervously, and Ratchet picked up the tool and gazed at it sadly.

"Great. Now patching Vesper up will take even longer."

Alarms started to go off in Optimus' processor, but he said nothing as Ratchet shook his head, started to grumble unintelligibly, and returned to fixing up the unconscious femme.

Hours passed before Ratchet was finally done, and by that time the kids – as well as their respective guardians – had gone home for the night. Optimus was sitting near one of the monitors, reading something that was from the Earth's 'information highway', or what the Prime had heard Raf call 'the internet'.

"Optimus," Ratchet said, his voice quietly chastising, "You need to get some rest."

Optimus shook his head, keeping his eyes trained on whatever he was reading. "I am not tired." He turned to Ratchet. "I… could not sleep if I tried, anyway."

Ratchet sighed. "Look, Optimus, she will be fine. You won't be, unless you recharge." Optimus, however, stood his ground without a word, and eventually Ratchet caved in (due to being tired) and said, "Fine. Stay with her if you want," before he stalked off. Optimus gave his old friend a small smile before walking over and sitting next to the table that Vesper was lying on. He sat close so that, if he wanted to, he could reach over and touch her face with his servo.

He sighed and looked away. "Vesper," he said softly, admiring the way her name seemed to come so naturally to him. "I… I'm here for you, Vesper."


	4. Chapter 3

Optimus pulled himself out of stasis nap to notice that Vesper was still not awake, and that made him feel miserable as he straightened up. Nobody else was around, which confused him, until he saw a small piece of paper sitting on the Ground Bridge control mechanism. He stood and walked over to it to see that it was a small, hand-written note from Jack, who'd written it for Ratchet. Ratchet, in the note, informed Optimus that he was to keep an eye of Vesper, just in case she woke up. He sighed as he crinkled the note up and tossed it gently into a nearby bin, then walked back over and sat down next to Vesper. He resisted the urge to reach over and gently touch her face again, although he couldn't help but trail his eyes down her body, lingering a few seconds longer over her chest area. Then he jerked his optics away and cursed himself before standing and walking over to one of the many monitors in the base; it was a desperate attempt to preoccupy himself, although he knew that his thoughts would eventually trail back in Vesper's direction.

Meanwhile, Arcee – who was a part of a simple scouting mission with Jack – was mulling over the conversation she'd had with Vesper in the moments before the Decepticons had attacked. Arcee had questioned Vesper about her feelings towards Optimus, to which Vesper had blushed and had started to stammer, although the scarlet femme had never actually admitted that she had a crush on the Autobot leader. So she didn't even notice when Jack tried to get her attention; she only noticed when Jack picked up a stick and threw it at her arm.

"Arcee, the energon reading has spiked," Jack said, and Arcee looked down at the energon reader to notice that Jack was indeed correct; the energon they'd been tracking was mere metres in front of them. Both human and Autobot quickly ducked behind a rocky ledge, then peered out, but the clearing was completely empty. This made Arcee feel very grateful; with the Autobots at an all-time critical low on energon, they didn't have the resources to face the Decepticons in battle. "This seems to be an untouched energon deposit," Jack breathed, and Arcee nodded.

"We need to get as much as we can carry," Arcee whispered, and Jack looked up at her in horror. Arcee sighed. "As dangerous as it is, we all need energon… well, maybe not you, Miko and Raf, but the rest of us do." She looked back in the direction of the energon deposit, then back down at Jack before seeming to come to a decision. "Stay here; I'll go scout out the area."

"Be careful," Jack murmured softly as Arcee jumped out of their hiding spot and towards the energon deposit. She transformed her servos into blasters before walking into the mine shaft, noting how quiet it seemed. It was odd, she knew, for Decepticons to leave an energon deposit untouched, especially because they wanted to have every advantage over the Autobots. It concerned Arcee, but she tried not to think about that as she ducked behind a rock just as she entered the main mining area. There weren't even any mining drills, and most of the energon looked completely untouched.

Thinking about her next move carefully, Arcee walked tentatively forward before walking over to a rather large energon crystal. She knew that there was no point in trying to get a hold of Ratchet, due to the fact that she was almost underground. There was far too much interference. Instead, she turned and gathered as many of the smaller energon crystals as she could, before she hurried out of the cave and back over to where Jack was still hiding. "That's all I could grab, but it will definitely be useful," Arcee said, her voice warm and grateful.

Jack nodded, then pulled out his phone and typed a quick message to Raf, who was accompanying Bumblebee and Ratchet. He soon got one back, and soon enough the three had shown up, for they had not been too far from Arcee and Jack. Bulkhead and Miko arrived a few minutes later, having been informed of the untouched energon by Raf. The group walked into the mine, looking around at the energon that, currently, was all theirs.

"Well," Ratchet said, looking pleased, "There's plenty here!" He pulled the Ground Bridge remote out and clicked a button, which immediately opened a bridge, which startled Optimus out of his self-distraction. Ratchet walked into the base, took one look at Optimus (who was obviously puzzled), and said, "We need your trailer. We found a lot of energon that doesn't appear to have been found by the Decepticons."

Optimus nodded. "I will go, then. My trailer will only come to me… and can only be moved by me," he said, and Ratchet knew that the Autobot leader spoke the truth. So he relented and allowed Optimus to go and aid the energon gathering effort, handing the Prime the Ground Bridge remote as he walked over to the medical table and scanned Vesper. Optimus, with one last look at the unconscious femme, departed to go help his friends, the Ground Bridge closing behind him. As soon as he emerged into the mine, he summoned his trailer from wherever it went (most likely a personal subspace) and it appeared next to him.

"Good thinking, Optimus," Arcee said, and Optimus mutely nodded and handed the Ground Bridge remote to Jack before the bots got to work, the humans standing back and observing. They mined as much energon as they could and packed it tightly into the trailer, only stopping when Optimus' trailer was packed so tightly that you couldn't even fit a spatula between the side of the trailer and a crystal of energon. When they were ready to depart, Optimus transformed into truck form and, with the help of Bumblebee, hooked the trailer on. Then Jack pressed the button that opened the Ground Bridge, and Optimus drove in, followed by the others.

Ratchet turned to look at the group as they drove and walked in. He walked over to Optimus as the Prime pulled up, unhooked his trailer, then transformed back into robot mode before opening the trailer and showing Ratchet the spoils. The doctor was very pleased, and the Autobots got to work unpacking the trailer… which was much more difficult than packing it had been. Bumblebee, at one point, threatened to throw the trailer into a wall, but it never ended up happening, for once the first piece of energon was dislodged the whole lot fell out… straight on top of Ratchet. Once they dug the medic out, he refused to stop grumbling and refused to help anymore, instead preferring to go back to making sure that Vesper was stable.

When all the energon was finally processed and stored correctly, Ratchet immediately began work on Vesper. Now that the Autobots had more energon – at least enough to last them a few more Earth months – Ratchet could finally give the unconscious femme the transfusion she so desperately required. She didn't wake up, but Ratchet gave everyone the good news that they'd all been waiting to hear, especially Optimus; Vesper would now begin to recover at a much faster rate than she had been before.

"Thank the Allspark for that energon," Bulkhead said with a heaving, relieved sigh, and received nods from everyone. "Now, all we need to do is wait for Vesper to wake up," he said, looking at everyone.

"Epp epp epp!" Ratchet said, immediately drawing everyone's attention. "Vesper isn't going to wake for a while yet."

Optimus nodded. "Understandable," he said. "Now, it is getting quite late; Rafael, Jack, Miko, I believed your parents will want you to return home soon?"

Raf stiffened and swallowed nervously. "Uh oh," he said, immediately drawing Bumblebee's attention, who chirped and beeped something. Raf scratched the back of his head nervously. "Yeah, I kind of had to be home about an hour and a half ago…"

Ratchet facepalmed. "Oh boy."

"You're totally grounded," Miko whispered, and Raf nodded.

"Yeah… Mum's not going to be happy…" He looked away from everyone. "I may not be around so much for a while."

Ratchet walked over to the Ground Bridge control and quickly pressed in the coordinates of Raf's house, then opened the bridge and gestured to it. The boy smiled, thanked Ratchet, then hurried into the bridge and disappeared. Bumblebee went to follow, but the medic grabbed his shoulder and shook his head. Bumblebee chirped in disappointment but did not try to follow Raf again as the bridge closed.

"Bumblebee," the medic said, "It'd be best for all of you to recharge." He looked back at the others as he spoke, and they all nodded in agreement. Even Optimus agreed, for he was beginning to feel extremely tired and was already struggling to keep his optics open. So it was him who wandered back to his own berth first, followed by the others. Ratchet was the last to leave, but he did so, although he knew that it was probably not wise to leave Vesper on her own. However, exhausted as he was, Ratchet knew that he would probably fall asleep while trying to keep an eye on his patient. So he departed, turning the lights off as he did so.

About an hour later, Vesper finally opened her optics. Her whole body was in a tremendous amount of pain, and she didn't quite like the fact that it was dark, either. She slowly sat up, suppressing agonised cries as she did so. Then she looked around, her optics adjusting quickly to the inky blackness around her. It wasn't _completely_ dark – the monitors were giving her small amounts of light – but it was still dark enough to make Vesper feel quite claustrophobic.

She frowned as she realised that she was no longer on the _Nemesis_. This confused her, as she remembered nothing of being taken away from it. She remembered only the face of the Decepticon leader and the Decepticon that had almost cut her arm off with a buzz-saw, as well as being jabbed repeatedly with an energon prod. She also remembered chains, darkness, and blazing red optics.

With shaky legs and agony shooting through her entire body, Vesper stood and tentatively took a few steps. Her footfalls sounded far too loud to her, and she flinched at every small noise. She jumped when she saw something moving in the darkness, but soon realised that she had jumped at her own shadow. Sighing with embarrassment, she slowly made her way back over to the medical table and gingerly sat down on the edge of it. Then she became aware that she was shaking. A choking, tearless sob burst from her chest then, and she buried her face in her servos, trying to muffle her sobs.

She hoped – prayed to the Allspark – that she hadn't succumbed to the torture. She desperately hoped that she'd not given the access code embedded in her processor to Megatron, for she knew that such a weapon was never supposed to be deployed unless it was being used to protect Cybertron… and she knew, in her spark, that Megatron had been attempting to use the weapon to exterminate humanity and the Autobots.

She also didn't know what to do. She wanted to stay here on Earth – the Autobot group here were the first bots she'd encountered for many, many years. Yet she believed herself to be a problem, incapable of defending herself, and a burden that the Earth-based Autobots did not need.

She didn't notice that she was not alone until Optimus sat down next to her, surprising her and making her flinch away. His turquoise optics met with her cyan ones, and he smiled lightly at her before saying, "It is good to see you awake."

Vesper looked away. "I am sorry for causing you and your team much difficulty," she said, feeling as if she owed Optimus an apology, before tearlessly sobbing again. "I do not know why you did not just leave me in Decepticon hands…"

Optimus put his servo on her shoulder. Her spark started beating rapidly as she marvelled at the warmth of his touch, then she shook her head wildly and looked away. "Vesper," Optimus said, his voice still quiet, "I would never leave you in the hands of the Decepticons."

She sighed. "Is it because of the access code?" she asked, her cyan optics quivering with misery.

When Optimus shook his head, Vesper was very much surprised. "No," he said softly, his servo falling back to his side. "The access code means nothing to me." He took one of her servos in both of his own and smiled warmly. "I would not leave a friend behind."

Vesper smiled and looked away, feeling extremely miserable. "I am a burden, sir, one that you and your team do not need." She stood and slowly walked away, pulling her hand from his. Then she looked down at the floor. "I have had no formal military training; all I am is a data analyst."

Optimus stood and walked over. "You are armed, are you not?" he asked, his voice curious. Vesper frowned, then nodded.

"I only have one weapon on each servo," she said, revealing the blaster on the right and the blade on the left. "But yes, I am armed."

Optimus nodded approvingly. "Then you are no burden to us," he said. _Nor were you, at any time_, he thought to himself. He didn't realise that he was staring at Vesper's chassis until she nervously cleared her throat, and he blinked and looked away in complete embarrassment. "I'm sorry," he apologised.

Vesper blushed and looked away. "It's alright," she said, just as the both of them heard footsteps walking down the hallway. Optimus realised that it was time for the others to wake just as Ratchet walked out, still looking half asleep. Vesper quickly replaced both her weapons with her servos. If Ratchet thought anything was up, he said nothing about it, instead of saying a greeting to the both of them and walking over to Vesper.

"Well," he said, "It's good to see you awake and moving." He gestured to the medical table. "I do need you to sit down so I can run a few more scans, but you seem well." He looked over at Optimus and nodded before following Vesper over to the medical table and pulling out his scanner. He immediately scanned her, then gave her the all-clear when he found that she had recovered a lot. The medic knew that Vesper was far from ready for active duty, but she would at least be allowed to help out around the base.

"Ratchet," Optimus said, drawing the medic's attention away from his thoughts, "I would like to train Vesper."

Ratchet frowned. "How so?" he asked, confused, as Bumblebee walked out and beeped a greeting. "Good morning, Bumblebee," Ratchet replied, and Optimus nodded. Vesper just looked down at the floor, which made Bumblebee chirp in sadness at the femme's behaviour.

"I feel as if I am a burden to you," she said sadly, loud enough for both Ratchet and Bumblebee to hear, and the two shared a shocked look. "I am armed, yes," she said, revealing both of her weapons, "But I have not been formally trained."

Ratchet frowned, then gripped his chin and turned his back. Everyone waited patiently for the doctor to come to a decision, which happened quite quickly. The medic turned around and looked over at Optimus before saying, "Try not to hurt her too badly, if at all. I'm sure she doesn't want to be confined to the medical table again."

Optimus nodded. "Please open a Ground Bridge, then, to a remote location."

Ratchet nodded as he walked over to the Ground Bridge control, then typed in a bunch of seemingly random coordinates before opening the bridge. Optimus walked over to Vesper, who was still having some difficulties moving quickly, and supported her as the two walked into the bridge, Ratchet closing it after them.

Bumblebee chirped and beeped, and Ratchet nodded in agreement. "They're not making it completely obvious, but we can all tell," he said, a small smile appearing on his face as he spoke.


	5. Chapter 4

"Alright," Optimus said, turning to Vesper as she nervously leaned against a nearby rock. "I am going to first teach you about a few moves with that blade of yours," he said, gesturing at her left servo. She looked down at it, then formed the servo into the blade and held it up. Optimus nodded before forming both of his own servos into blades, making Vesper's cyan optics widen in shock.

"Y-You have two?" she asked, confused, and Optimus nodded. "O-Oh…"

Optimus sighed as he transformed one back into a hand. "If it makes you feel better, I will not use both, okay?" he asked, and Vesper nodded as she pushed herself away from the rock, biting her lip as she did so. Optimus smiled softly. "Do not be worried, I will not hurt you." Then he jumped forward, giving Vesper little time to react… but, much to the Prime's surprise, the femme jumped out of the way and landed expertly and lightly on her feet, almost as if she'd encountered a similar move before. Gritting her teeth in order to hide her pain, Vesper dodged again and again as Optimus leapt at her. "Good work, Vesper," Optimus said as he finally jumped back. "Where did you learn to dodge like that?"

The femme shrugged. "I used to do some martial arts; it was a hobby of mine." She shook her head. "I got to the end of the training, but…"

Optimus nodded knowingly. "It was informal; you were never supposed to apply it to actual wartime."

Vesper nodded in agreement. "Correct." She smiled softly at Optimus, who felt his spark flutter, and he couldn't help but smile back. Neither bot realised that their smiles had the exact same effect. As Optimus lunged at Vesper again, the femme realised that he was going to keep doing that until she retaliated, although she didn't want to hurt the Autobot leader. It didn't help that she still felt shaky on her feet, although it had lessened considerably from the shaking that had been occurring a few hours ago.

Suddenly Vesper felt something slice her chassis, and she realised that she'd been too caught up in her thoughts to notice that Optimus had been slowly stalking towards her. She looked down at the wound, which was beginning to ooze energon, then looked back at Optimus before slashing at him with her blade. He jumped backwards, dodging her blow, but then changed in his own blade back into a servo and regarded her with a concerned frown.

"Is something the matter?" Optimus asked, slowly approaching and looking at the wound that he'd inflicted. Vesper looked down and gingerly reached up to touch it, flinching when a small sting went through her chest. "You seemed… distracted, for a minute there."

Vesper shook her head. "I was just thinking up a strategy," she lied, nervously looking away. A flood of warmth made her arm tingle then, and she looked up to see that Optimus had placed his hand on her forearm. His optics were warm and concerned, and her spark started to beat a little quicker. If Optimus noticed, he didn't mention it.

Instead, he said softly, "Please do not lie to me."

Vesper blushed. "I…" She hung her head and sighed as she realised that there was no point in telling Optimus anything but the truth; he was, after all, a Prime. "I did not wish to harm you, and I did not want to retaliate."

Optimus shook his head slowly as his servo moved from her forearm to her shoulder. "You need not worry about harming me. It is nothing I cannot handle."

Vesper felt the blush on her face deepening as her shoulder tingled. She wanted so badly to kiss Optimus, to let him know how she felt, but she knew that it would be foolish to think that, even for a moment, he liked her back in the way she liked him. "I… I will take that into consideration, sir," she said softly, looking away from Optimus, who was regarding her curiously. She looked up and smiled at him, then sighed as she looked down at her blade. "Shall we continue?" she asked, looking back at him.

Optimus nodded, then transformed his servo back into a blade before swiping at her again. This time she dodged, jumping into the air, then slashed downwards as she landed. She hit Optimus right shoulder, but managed to refrain from actually cutting through it. The damage, however, was done; his arm went limp at his side and his blade transformed back into his servo. One of his eyes – his right eye, the closest to the wound – was squeezed shut in pain, and Vesper immediately regretted hurting him. She immediately went over to him, transforming her blade back to a usable servo, then looked sadly at the wound.

"I am sorry," she said, reaching out and touching the edges of the wound with the tips of her fingers. Surprisingly, Optimus did not flinch away. Instead he sighed and, using his undamaged arm, put his fingers to his audio processor.

"Ratchet," he said, "Can you please open a Ground Bridge?" He winced as his arm fell to his side, then he became aware of the fact that Vesper was touching him. She wasn't looking at his face, so she didn't see his eyes widen, and she didn't see the blush that appeared on his face. He looked away, trying to desperately slow his rapidly beating spark, but to no avail. Before Optimus could do anything else to try and calm himself, a swirling green portal opened up, and Optimus sighed with relief as he got to his feet, his shoulder agonising him, and stepped towards the bridge. Vesper didn't move, which concerned Optimus; he turned around and regarded her curiously. "Are you coming?"

Vesper shook her head slowly, then looked away. "I… think I will stay here for a bit."

Optimus sighed and walked back over to her, hearing an irritated grunt from Ratchet in his audio receptor. He placed his servo on her shoulder, but she shrugged him off. "Vesper you absolutely cannot stay here on your own. Please, do not be foolish, and come back to base."

Vesper shook her head again. "I… cannot." If she had been able to cry, Vesper knew that tears would be welling up.

"_Oh for Allspark's sake_," Optimus heard Ratchet growl, "_Don't be stubborn and just get back to base!_" He spoke in such a way that made Optimus believe that he had also commed Vesper, and the look on her face confirmed his suspicions.

After a bit more coaxing on Optimus' part, Vesper finally agreed to come back to base, but as soon as they stepped out of the Ground Bridge the femme took off towards her own room, and Optimus sighed. Before he could go after her, Ratchet stopped him by grabbing his good arm and shaking his head. "You need medical attention," he said, eyeballing the gash on Optimus' shoulder before pointing at the medical table and harshly saying, "Sit."

Optimus was about to disagree, but the expression on Ratchet's face seemed to warn him that if he tried, he would end up on the medic's dissection table rather than the medical one. He sighed and relented, then sat down on the table. Ratchet immediately started to scan the wounded area, then sighed.

"She did this?" he asked, "With no formal training?" His optics met with Optimus' own, who shrugged and mentioned what Vesper had told him about her informal training. Ratchet clicked his tongue, but said nothing else on the matter. Instead, he decided to say, "The others haven't come back today."

Optimus frowned. "Is it a school day for the children?" he asked, then looked around and noticed that Bumblebee was not present. "Where is Bumblebee?"

Ratchet shook his head. "It's Monday, so yes, it's a school day… But Bumblebee was sent out on a mission earlier, and I've heard nothing from him."

Alarms started to go off in Optimus' head as Ratchet started to repair his shoulder. "Have you attempted to—"

"Locate him?" Ratchet interrupted, and Optimus nodded before Ratchet sighed and said, "Yes. No response."

Optimus shook his head, trying to remain calm. As the leader of this small Autobot faction, he had to maintain a level head when it came to decisions such as this. However, this was quite alarming, considering Ratchet hadn't contacted him about this earlier. When Optimus asked this of the medic, Ratchet explained that Bumblebee had gone off the radar only minutes before Optimus had patched in and asked for a Ground Bridge.

And if it weren't bad enough, soon Bulkhead made contact and asked if anyone had seen Arcee.

Ratchet blinked in shock. "Wasn't she with Jack?" He looked over at Optimus, who looked just as worried.

"_Yeah, she took Jack to school, but… she wasn't there when school let out_," the former Wrecker explained. "_I have the kids with me_."

"Well," Ratchet said, "That's okay. They're okay… but that still leaves the question of where Bumblebee and Arcee are." This was met with astounded, horrified silence, so Ratchet said, "Get to somewhere where you can't be seen and I'll open a bridge."

"_Right_," Bulkhead said before cutting communications.

Ratchet turned to Optimus. "This is bad."

Optimus nodded in agreement. "It is indeed, old friend," he said, his voice low as he cast his eyes towards the direction of the Autobot personal quarters. "When Bulkhead and the human children return, I will go get Vesper, and we can discuss our next move."

Ratchet nodded, then said nothing as he received coordinates from Bulkhead. The medic immediately opened a Ground Bridge, and Bulkhead, in car form, came screaming through. He braked suddenly and the kids immediately opened the doors and stepped out, allowing Bulkhead to transform into his robotic form. Optimus immediately stood and walked towards Vesper's room, stopped in front of it and raised his servo to knock, but it opened before he could to reveal the femme standing there, a small frown on her face.

"Is something wrong, sir?" she asked, and Optimus nodded and informed her of the situation. This caused her to tense up and say, "I doubt I would be of any help."

Optimus shook his head. "We need all the help we can get. Please," he said, looking at her with a frown on his face. Vesper was about to say no, but as soon as she looked into his optics, she was entranced by how mesmerising they were to her. So, instead of saying no, she sighed and nodded, drawing a relieved smile from Optimus. "Thank you," he said, then turned on his heel and walked back to the main room of the base, followed closely by Vesper, who subconsciously found herself admiring his aft. She quickly shook those thoughts out of her head and silently chastised herself, but walked straight into Optimus because she was unaware that he'd stopped. He turned and caught her as she stumbled backwards. "Sorry," he said, realising that he'd not given her any warning.

"It is alright," she said, smiling back. Then they both looked down as Miko giggled and whispered something to Jack, who gave her an unimpressed grimace.

Ratchet cleared his throat, drawing everyone's attention away from Optimus and Vesper, then explained the current situation. Raf looked upset that his close friend had gone missing, and Jack just looked confused. Then Optimus explained that they were currently at a loss for what to do, as they had no idea how to get in contact with either bot, considering that neither Arcee nor Bumblebee were answering their comm.

It was actually Vesper who came up with something. "Bumblebee was sent off on an energon scouting mission, was he not?" she asked, looking at everyone. Ratchet nodded in confirmation, to which Vesper replied. "What if Decepticons found him and captured him?"

Ratchet frowned. "Usually they would attempt to kill us…"

Vesper shook her head. "Megatron is a cruel tyrant, but he would want information about the access code." She tapped her processor. "There is also something else that I carry, something I have not shared with anybody."

"And that would be?" Bulkhead asked.

Vesper sighed. "The weapon on board Megatron's flagship… was only one part of a whole." The room was silent. Each Autobot had a matching expression of shock and mortification on their faces. The three humans were simply gaping at Vesper, stunned. The femme immediately looked down at her feet and bit her lip, an almost overwhelming wave of sadness washing over her spark. "I am truly sorry for not telling any of you… but I know the locations of each part of the weapon… as well as the weapon's purpose."

"Can you tell us this?" Optimus asked, his voice not showing his mortification.

Vesper hesitated for a few minutes, then nodded tentatively. "The weapon is made of three parts. Each part is hidden here, on this planet." She turned away and rubbed her upper arm. "Megatron had the first part, which is the barrel of the weapon."

"So the weapon is a giant cannon?" Ratchet asked.

Vesper nodded as she turned back around. "Correct. It was a cannon to be mounted on a ship. The second part is the large base, which has the weapon controls attached to it." She shivered. "And the third part is where the power source and ammunition for the weapon goes." She squeezed her eyes shut. "And I believed that it is for that third part that Megatron captured Bumblebee and Arcee."

The looks of horror that she received made Vesper so miserable that she turned her back again and refused to look at them. Optimus breathed, "Why do you possess the information of this weapon?"

Vesper cringed; she knew that she should have expected this question. "Because…," she choked out, "I was one of the only ones who ever knew of the weapon's creation."

She heard Bulkhead curse. "Why didn't you tell us beforehand?" he asked.

Vesper whipped around. "Because the weapon was built by a bot who became a Decepticon!" This effectively silenced everyone, and Vesper looked around. "He is dead now, but… not before Megatron found out about the cannon… and had the first part put in his ship."

Optimus' servo clenched into a fist, and Vesper shrunk back in fear. However, she relaxed when he said, "Do not worry; I will not hurt you," and forced himself to relax. "I have but one more question, Vesper." He frowned. "Why would Megatron require Arcee and Bumblebee?"

She cringed yet again, then took a deep breath. She didn't know how hated she was going to be if she told them, but she knew that she absolutely had to.

"The weapon… is powered by the spark of a Cybertronian."


	6. Chapter 5

All was quiet in the Autobot base, save for the occasional conversation between Optimus and Ratchet as they attempted to form a plan in order to rescue Bumblebee and Arcee. The kids were playing video games, but they soon quit and just sat on the couch in silence. Bulkhead was standing near them, silently observing and listening.

Vesper, however, was no longer in the same room as the others. She had returned to her own quarters and had crawled onto her berth before curling up into a ball and wishing that she was offline. She had hated telling Optimus and the others about the weapon, but she knew that she'd had no choice if they wanted to save their two kidnapped comrades. Of course, now she was paying dearly for it. She felt absolutely horrible, like she'd betrayed the Autobots.

Suddenly a knock came at her door. As she sat up, the door opened to reveal Optimus, who looked at her with concern. He walked in, the door closing behind him, and knelt down in front of the femme, who forced a smile. "Hello, sir," she said, desperately attempting to conceal the misery from her voice, but she failed miserably. "Is there something I can help you with?" she asked, looking deep into the Prime's optics. She could get lost in their clear, pure depths, and that was all she wanted to do, although she knew that it would probably be wiser to exert some self-control.

"Vesper," Optimus said, his tone very soft, "Are you sad?" He looked into her eyes, feeling his spark beginning to race. He wanted so badly to hold her in his arms, to comfort her and tell her that everything would be alright, but he believed that there was absolutely no way that the femme would like him in that way.

Vesper swallowed nervously, then looked away. "I… feel as if the kidnapping of your friends is my doing." She squeezed her eyes shut. "I am so, so sorry, sir!" she sobbed, burying her face in her servos. "I cannot do anything—"

Optimus silenced her when he gently removed her servos from her face and gently touched her cheek with one of his own. Vesper's spark skipped quite a number of beats as Optimus' optics met her own. Her breath caught as she gazed into his eyes, so tender and loving. "Vesper, please do not blame yourself," he said, a sad yet strangely comforting smile on his face. "You did what you believed to be right." Vesper closed her eyes for a few minutes, then opened her eyes and went to speak… and was stunned into silence when Optimus pressed his lips gently against hers. She gasped as her spark almost stopped, feeling like she was dreaming.

Abruptly Optimus pulled away, looking utterly mortified, and then he hastily stood and walked to the other side of the room. Vesper looked after him, feeling a myriad of emotions; hurt, longing, confusion. Optimus' optics were squeezed shut, and his servos were clenched. He could not believe that he'd just done that, and cursed himself for it.

The silence in the room was awkward, for a time, but eventually Optimus turned around and managed to choke out, "I… I am sorry." He looked down at his feet, feeling both embarrassed and angry with himself for slipping up on his self-control. "I… should not have done that. Please do not be angry."

Vesper smiled. "I have no reason to be angry," she breathed, her voice so quiet that Optimus did not completely hear. He cocked his head to the side as Vesper stood and walked over. She stopped in front of him and gently placed her servo on his chest, which made the Prime's spark skip a beat. She smiled up at him. "That was… good," she admitted, blushing and looking away.

Optimus' eyes widened. "R-Really?" he asked breathlessly. Without turning to look at him, the femme nodded, and Optimus felt as if his spark would burst. He exhaled, then put his servo over Vesper's, which was still on his chest. His servo was so much larger than hers, so he was gentle when he wrapped his fingers around it and gently pulled it off. Then he hesitantly released her hand and gently touched the femme's face. "Vesper," he breathed, his voice quivering, "Look at me."

Vesper turned her head slowly, then her eyes met with Optimus'. "Yes?" she breathed, her voice also quivering.

Optimus said nothing more. Instead, he leaned down and kissed her, a bit harder this time. Vesper gasped as his lips touched hers, then returned the kiss with the exact same amount of passion. The Prime moved his servo from Vesper's face, then put both servos gently on her back, sending a tingle through the femme. Her own servos immediately started to trail up Optimus' torso, making him shiver in anticipation and pleasure.

Neither of them realised that they'd moved over to Vesper's berth until Optimus gently pushed her down onto it, still kissing her and trailing his servos over her. Both Vesper and Optimus could feel their sparks beating crazily, especially as both of them explored the other's body with their servos.

Optimus touched Vesper on the inside of one of her thighs, and she gasped in pleasure. However, it stopped there when the door opened, and Ratchet said, "Hey, Optimus, are you—" before stopping dead. Both Vesper and Optimus quickly stood and blushed deeply as Ratchet panicked, spluttered, "I-I'm so-sorry!" and ran out, the door closing behind him.

Optimus and Vesper shared a mortified look before both following the medic. When they walked out, everyone looked at them in confusion and curiosity, and Optimus noticed that Ratchet was silently tapping away on one of the many monitors. His expression was blank, but deep within his eyes Optimus could see that the medic was horrified and embarrassed at what he'd accidently walked in on.

"Old friend," Optimus said quietly as he approached the medic. Ratchet stiffened then turned slowly to Optimus, saying nothing. Optimus sighed. "I… I am sorry that you, uh, saw that," he said, and Ratchet stiffly nodded before turning back to his work. It was clear that the medic was absolutely traumatised and probably was wishing that his processor could be erased. Optimus scratched his head, then looked back at the humans and the other two bots, who were having a quiet conversation, although they kept looking over at Optimus and Ratchet with confused – and in Vesper's case, knowing – expressions on their faces. "Please do not tell the others," Optimus begged, putting his hand tentatively on Ratchet's shoulder.

The medic flinched and eyed Optimus' servo before looking up at his face and stiffly choking out, "Rest assured, Optimus, my lips are sealed." Then he stiffly went back to his work, and Optimus sighed as he removed his hand from his old friend's shoulder.

"Thank you," he said, and Ratchet nodded briskly. Then, in a louder voice, "So, what is the plan for rescuing Arcee and Bumblebee?" He turned to face Bulkhead and the humans, trying not to make Ratchet any more uncomfortable than he already was. In his processor he highly doubted that Ratchet _could_ be in any more distress, but he didn't give voice to that thought. He didn't want the others to know about what had traumatised Ratchet so much; it was already embarrassing enough for Ratchet to have even walked in and seen that.

Bulkhead nodded. "The _Nemesis_ appears to have landed, because Ratchet detected it earlier," the former Wrecker said, and Optimus nodded. Suddenly Ratchet sighed and opened the Ground Bridge. Everybody turned and cocked their heads to the side, but Ratchet remained absolutely wordless. This drew an exasperated sigh from Bulkhead before the bot said, "Man, something's got him all worked up." Vesper and Optimus both stiffened slightly but said absolutely nothing. "In any case, let's go kick some Decepticon aft!" he proclaimed, looking over at Optimus.

The Autobot leader nodded. "Autobots," he said, his voice strong and clear, "Transform and roll out!"

Vesper smiled at the Prime's catchphrase as she transformed into her altmode, following the example of the others, and driving off. She noticed that Ratchet stayed behind with the kids, who were watching silently as the Autobot group entered the Ground Bridge… and then appeared on the other side, right in front of the _Nemesis_. Vesper stiffened, remembering the torture that she'd been put through during her time on board, and she prayed to the Allspark that Bumblebee and Arcee were still alive.

"Alright," Optimus said, his faceplate sliding over and covering his face. "We need to sneak on board, find and rescue our two companions." He looked at both Vesper and Bulkhead, who both nodded in complete agreement, then the three turned to the ship. Optimus' eyes narrowed as he observed the Vehicons that were doing their patrols. Optimus, after a bit more scanning, soon found a part of the area that the Vehicons (stupidly) were not patrolling, and he quickly directed his two fellow bots over to it.

After a bit more sneaking around, the three Autobots finally found themselves on board the Decepticon ship, and Vesper was unnerved by how quiet it seemed. To Bulkhead and Optimus, the silence was more than unnerving; it was a warning. It meant that they only had a small amount of time before they got discovered.

"Alright," Optimus said as the three hid in a room that seemed neglected. "We need to search the ship thoroughly."

Bulkhead grunted. "I'll go on my own," he said. His words were polite, unknowing, but it still made Optimus frown. Vesper looked down at the ground, praying to the Allspark that she wasn't blushing. "Uh… is there something wrong?" Bulkhead questioned suddenly, and Optimus had to refrain from shaking his head too fast.

"No. That is a good plan," he said, although in reality he didn't want to be alone with Vesper, for he was fearful that he might divert all of his attention from the mission at hand. He did not mention this, however, and Bulkhead went his separate way from the two Autobots, who headed in the opposite direction to where Bulkhead was going. They said nothing as they snuck through. They focused only on finding Arcee and Bumblebee, hoping that that would be enough to distract them from their… other thoughts.

It was Vesper who found Arcee, and she summoned Optimus over as she checked the other femme for any signs of life. Arcee was still online, and Vesper breathed a sigh of relief before Optimus picked her up. He did not, however, contact Bulkhead, and Vesper understood why; he did not want the Decepticons to intercept the signal and realise that they were on board. Not that it mattered.

They'd already been discovered.

Optimus turned to leave, and his optics widened as he saw Soundwave standing there. The silent Decepticon's visor stared ominously back, and Vesper cursed as she stepped backwards.

Optimus set the unconscious Arcee down before stepping over her and facing Soundwave. It was impossible to tell what the Decepticon was thinking, due to his expression being concealed, but that didn't matter so much to Optimus. What did matter is that they'd been compromised, and now had to try and get out with their lives.

"Vesper," Optimus said, his voice low. The femme looked up at him, her cyan optics wide with fear. "Do not get involved in this fight," he ordered. Vesper was more than willing to follow that command, so she simply ducked out and dragged Arcee to where she herself was hiding.

Optimus turned back to Soundwave just as the silent Decepticon leapt at the Prime. Optimus leapt backwards and away from Vesper and Arcee, then turned both of his servos into blasters and fired repeatedly at Soundwave. The Decepticon immediately retaliated, reaching for Optimus with his long, thin fingers. Optimus dodged the blow, although he didn't entirely avoid getting harmed; Soundwave inflicted a long, thin scratch on Optimus' cheek.

The fight continued, and Vesper found herself looking down at Arcee with a sad expression on her face. It was because of her that Arcee and Bumblebee had been captured, and since they'd only found Arcee, Vesper didn't know if Bumblebee was alive… and she didn't know how Bulkhead was faring either. She could only hope that he was alive, as was Bumblebee…

Suddenly, Optimus crashed into the wall above her head, and she screamed in terror as she cowered, covering Arcee's body with her own. The Autobot leader slumped to the ground, grunting in agony, and struggled to get up. Soundwave stalked ever closer, and Vesper watched in fear as the Decepticon enclosed his thin fingers around Optimus's neck, then started to drag him across the floor. After all, Optimus was far larger than Soundwave, so it was impossible for the Decepticon to pick him up. But the Decepticon could certainly deal with the Prime, and that scared Vesper.

It also made her decide to do something before Optimus was taken offline.

"Let him go!" Vesper yelled, revealing her blade and leaping over at Soundwave, who turned around a little too slowly. She slashed at him, slicing partially through his visor and causing him to stumble backwards. He dropped Optimus due to this, but didn't attack again immediately. Instead, he reached up and touched his damaged visor, then looked up just as Vesper slashed at him again. He dodged, but the femme still managed to cut right through Laserbeak's wing. Immediately the little symbiotic creature cried out and tried to fly away, but he only managed to detach from Soundwave and fall pathetically to the ground.

Soundwave and Vesper stood their ground, staring each other down. Optimus, by this time, had managed to struggle to his feet, but Laserbeak's injury was enough for Soundwave. His tentacles gathered his little 'pet' up, and he transformed and flew away.

Vesper breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't want to kill someone, especially not another Decepticon. Killing one had been tough enough, and she wasn't completely sure that she could ever pull it off again.

"Vesper," Optimus said, his voice both filled with pride… and with disappointment. "I ordered you not to get involved."

Vesper sighed as she turned her blade back into a servo. "I am sorry," she said, "But I could not idly sit by while I could do something!"

Optimus smiled as he walked over and picked Arcee up. "Apology accepted. Now," he said, looking around and frowning, "We need to leave before we are found by Megatron."

Vesper frowned as they mobilised. "Soundwave would inform him of our presence, would he—ah!" The femme found herself cut off as she walked out the door, mainly because she had to duck to narrowly avoid a blast from Megatron's Fusion Cannon.

Optimus hissed in shock as he looked at Megatron, who was accompanied by Soundwave. The Decepticon warlord looked unimpressed… not to mention absolutely furious. "You Autobots are a pest that I should have long since exterminated," he hissed, his eyes red and blazing as they narrowed.

Optimus' own turquoise optics narrowed, but he said nothing. Instead, he noticed something moving behind Megatron and Soundwave, but made sure not to draw too much attention to it. Thus, Megatron and Soundwave only realised that another Autobot was on board when the both of them got smashed in the back of the head; Megatron got hit with a wrecking ball, Soundwave with a fist. Both of them collapsed, unconscious, but Soundwave got up almost immediately. Megatron was a little slower, but by that time, Bulkhead had already managed to knock Soundwave completely out, and soon took care of Megatron.

"Bulkhead," Optimus said, his faceplate finally retracting. "Have you located Bumblebee?"

Bulkhead nodded and grinned. "He's already back at base."

Optimus and Vesper looked at each other, their optics wide. Then Optimus looked back at the former Wrecker and said, "Then why did you return?" His eyes hardened.

Bulkhead sighed. "Because I had a feeling you guys were in trouble," he said.

Optimus sighed, but said nothing else on the matter. Instead the group mobilised, Optimus carrying Arcee, Vesper and Bulkhead acting as defence, which turned out not to be needed. Bulkhead had taken out many – if not most – of the Vehicons, so their way was trouble-free, and they soon found themselves back at base. Bumblebee was awake and sitting on the edge of the medical table, chirping and beeping at Ratchet, who was nodding along and listening to whatever Bumblebee was talking about.

Bumblebee fell silent as soon as he laid eyes upon Arcee, and he stood and stumbled away from the table as Optimus walked over and lay their female comrade down. Ratchet sucked in air and immediately scanned her, looking quite relieved when he discovered that she was still online.

"Well," Ratchet said, his relief hidden, "At least they're both alive."

Optimus nodded in agreement. "Indeed, old friend," he said. Then he realised that the kids were nowhere to be found, and he cocked his head to the side. "Where are the children?"

Ratchet shook his head. "They returned home. As did I," he said, his voice softening as he spoke. A small smile appeared on Optimus' face; he knew _exactly_ where Ratchet had been, although the last time he'd mentioned it, he'd almost had one of his optics taken out by a blow torch.

Instead, Optimus nodded, then yawned. "I might go recharge," he said before turning on his heel and walking off. As he passed her, the Prime gave Vesper a small yet warm smile, which she returned. Bulkhead decided to follow Optimus' example and, after saying goodnight to everyone, also departed for his room. Bumblebee waited up for at least twenty more minutes, then Ratchet went to bed, although the latter ensured that Arcee was in stasis before he departed. That only left Vesper, who sighed and walked down the hallway, turning off the lights as she did so. She was about to head to her room, but she stopped before she opened her door and looked behind her at Optimus'.

A small smile appeared on her face as her door opened, and she whispered a soft, "Goodnight, Optimus," before heading to bed, the door closing after her.


	7. Chapter 6

Vesper awoke later than the others, but she didn't quicken her movements. Instead she lay on her berth for a few minutes, her optics sleepily gazing at everything around her. A soft sigh escaped from her lips as she slowly sat up, then she looked down at the cut on her chassis and gently ran her fingers over it. Wincing as a light pain coursed through her, she stood off of the berth and slowly wandered out of her room, down the hallway and into the main foyer of the base. The other Autobots were already there, and Ratchet and Optimus were having a quiet conversation. Bumblebee was sitting next to Arcee, who was still unconscious. The human children were having a quiet conversation, but Raf was not among them; a white haired girl was there instead. She looked up as Vesper stopped at the door, her optics wide as she took in the human.

"Uh, Ratch?" the human girl said, turning to the medic as he turned to her. She gestured at Vesper, who was trying to decide if she should run and hide, or stand her ground and just keep her distance. "Who's that?"

Ratchet looked up at Vesper and nodded before turning back to the human girl. "Her name is Vesper; we rescued her from that crashed Decepticon vessel." Then he looked up at Vesper. "This," he said, gesturing at the white haired human, "Is Alice, the human I was assigned to protect."

Vesper looked down at Alice, then tentatively nodded. "I see," she said, her voice low. Then she looked over at Optimus, who was avoiding her gaze entirely. "Sir, have the other parts of the weapon been located?" she asked, knowing that it was imperative that Team Prime destroy them at all costs. She rubbed her upper arm nervously.

Optimus sighed and shook his head. "Unfortunately, the other two parts have not been located," he said. Then he turned to Vesper and smiled, drawing a curious look from Alice. "However, this also means that the Decepticons have not unearthed any of the other parts."

Vesper sighed in relief. "For that, I am thankful," she said, smiling. Then her face became hard, and she shook her head before looking away. "I can help you discover the locations of the others, if you would like?" She looked up at Optimus and frowned.

Optimus sighed and turned away, unsure of what to do. On one servo, Team Prime had the opportunity to foil the plans of the Decepticons before they could even find the other parts. But on the other servo, he knew that if he unearthed the weapons, they would immediately appear on Decepticon radar. He had to find out more information before he did anything rash, but he didn't know how to gather that information.

"Hey, Optimus!" Alice suddenly exclaimed, drawing the Prime's attention. "I think we should take Vesper up on her offer."

This caused Ratchet to scowl. "Alice, you have absolutely no idea what we're talking about!" he hissed, making the white haired human shrug. This earned her a withering look from the doctor, but he said nothing more on the matter. Instead, he sighed as he looked over at Optimus. "If we can gain the upper hand, then we really should."

Optimus nodded. "Opinion noted, old friend," he said, tapping his fingers on something nearby. "However, if we unearth the weapon's remaining parts, they will appear on Decepticon radar… and then we have a transportation issue."

Vesper shook her head. "You need not worry about transportation." This caused everyone to look at her, and she sighed. "The individual parts can be shrunk down, but only by myself," she explained, her voice cracking as she said the last part, and Optimus' eyes softened. He walked over and put his servo on Vesper's shoulder.

"Do not fear," he said softly. "If we need to retrieve this weapon's parts, then I will do everything in my power to protect you." He then pulled his servo away and walked back over to the monitor. "Unfortunately, we cannot allow the Decepticons to get their hands on the weapon. We must retrieve the other two parts before Megatron does."

Everyone nodded, and Bumblebee chirped something. Instantly the humans were lost, for Raf served as their translator seeing as they could not understand Bumblebee's way of speech. However, the rest of the Autobots nodded, completely understanding what he'd said. Alice looked up at Ratchet and asked for a translation, but he ignored her question and instead turned to Optimus.

"So are we going?" he asked. Optimus shook his head, causing the medic to frown. "Then what—?"

"Only Vesper and myself will go," he said, drawing a frown from the others. "The rest of you will wait here. Ratchet, you must keep an eye on Arcee. Bulkhead and Bumblebee will be back-up if we require it." He turned to the humans. "You will keep Ratchet company."

They all nodded, and Ratchet sighed as he looked over at Vesper. "Alright, I need the coordinates of the second part of the weapon," he said, and Vesper nodded before giving them to him. Just before he typed it in, he stopped and turned around, his expression incredulous. "Wait a second… you mean to tell me that—"

Vesper frowned. "Have I done something wrong?" She scratched the back of her head.

Ratchet shook his head. "No, you haven't… but the weapon is underneath a heavily built-up area!"

This effectively silenced everyone, and they all looked at each other with expressions of mortification. Optimus looked grim, and Vesper wondered why it was so bad that the weapon was in a built-up area, although she didn't bother to ask. It was probably a human safety thing, which made perfect sense to her. Another thought occurred to her then: Autobots didn't appear to have much contact with any human, so perhaps they were acting in disguise? This made sense, considering Optimus' earlier urging for Vesper to get an Earth-based altmode.

Optimus eventually sighed. "Is it underground?" he asked, looking over at Vesper.

She nodded. "I would say so. The second part is the base and the control system, which is larger than the cannon." She frowned and gently tapped her chin. "I do, however, wonder how we could possibly access it."

It was Miko who blurted out a suggestion. "Subway tunnels!"

Vesper frowned, but didn't question the young Japanese-born girl. After all, she didn't know much about Earth, but she was aware that the others had to know what a subway tunnel was. Optimus confirmed her thoughts by nodding. "An excellent suggestion, Miko," he said, smiling. "Alright, we shall Ground Bridge directly into the tunnels."

Ratchet snorted but typed in the coordinates and opened a bridge. Both Optimus and Vesper immediately transformed into their altmodes and drove into the bridge before Ratchet closed it. When both Prime and femme were gone, Alice smirked and said, "Oh, they're totally in love."

Everyone laughed before Jack said, "Yeah, but they haven't actually made it public yet."

Alice rolled her eyes. "Do they even need to?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest, wincing as the movement caused her a small amount of pain. She was still suffering from her Decepticon-inflicted wound, mainly because the stitches had only been removed recently. Ratchet looked sadly down at her but said nothing as she smiled.

In the subway tunnels, Vesper and Optimus were driving around with their lights on. The murky darkness of the place seemed to crush Vesper, who was beginning to panic; she hated being in a dark place. She was thankful that Optimus was with her, even if he wasn't saying much; his mere presence was enough to make her feel safe.

They drove around for a while before Vesper stopped moving. Optimus stopped as well, then turned to look at her as she turned her headlights off and transformed back into robot mode. The Prime, unfortunately, could not follow her example, for he was far too tall. She giggled at that; being only 19ft tall had its advantages. She walked over to something – a crumbly part of the wall – and touched it gently. Then she turned back to Optimus and said, "Through here."

Optimus replied with, "Very well. Now we have to get through and—"

Vesper quickly silenced him as she transformed her servo into her blaster and shot her way through. She winced at the racket she caused, but nobody came and investigated, so she continued destroying the wall until there was a hole big enough for Optimus to drive though. Vesper walked through, the Prime trailing behind her, and the both of them soon found themselves in a room that was even darker than the subway tunnels.

Vesper froze and whimpered, shivering, as her claustrophobia and fears crashed down on her all at once. Optimus shone his headlights on her to notice her shaking, and immediately he wished he was shorter. Instead of transforming, however, he simply drove over and said, "Vesper, I am here for you."

"O-Optim-mus," Vesper stuttered, collapsing to her knees and gasping. "H-Help m-me…," she whimpered, clasping her servos to her head. Optimus hissed in panic before transforming into robot mode, making sure that he didn't immediately stand up. He crawled over to Vesper and gently put his hand on her back, trying to send her comforting thoughts, but the femme didn't cease her shivering. Optimus growled in fear, then started to rub her back.

"Vesper, it is alright. There are no Decepticons," he breathed, leaning his face close to hers as she chokingly sobbed and continued quaking. "Shh," he said softly, gently grabbing her chin in the servo he didn't have on Vesper's back and lifting her face so that their eyes met. "It is alright. I am here with you."

"Y-You m-me-mean it?" she spluttered, her eyes wide and fear-filled.

Optimus smiled sweetly. "Of course I do, Vesper," he breathed. Then he leaned down and kissed her gently for a few seconds before pulling away. "I will not leave you alone."

The femme smiled, still feeling fearful, although she now felt so much better. "Thank you… Optimus," she whispered. Then she looked around, her optics able to see perfectly even in the murky darkness. Optimus looked around as well, but he could see nothing out of the ordinary. He looked back at Vesper and regarded her curiously. She smiled down at him. "It's further down."

"We have to go further down?" he asked curiously, and she nodded as she pointed.

"Look over there," she said, and Optimus obliged before seeing a large staircase that lead downwards into the unknown. He looked back at her as she said, "It's down there; I can feel it."

Optimus nodded once before transforming into truck mode and heading towards the stair case. Vesper followed after him, noticing that he was driving slowly as to not desert the femme. They slowly went down the stairs, eventually noticing that the roof was high enough for Optimus to finally stand, so he transformed and walked down, making sure he didn't go too far ahead. Vesper was getting more and more petrified as they walked further into the gloom, and more than once they both stopped as the femme came close to having a mental breakdown.

"Vesper," Optimus said softly as Vesper finally collapsed, unable to keep it together anymore, and began to sob. He knelt down in front of her and gently put his servos on her shoulders. "Vesper, it is alright," he breathed, gently removing one of his hands from her shoulders and cupping her cheek with it. "You do not need to be frightened." He stroked her cheek with his thumb, his optics softly glowing in the gloom.

"I killed him, Optimus!" she sobbed suddenly, making Optimus freeze. "I killed the one who created the weapon!" She buried her face in her servos. "I cannot tell you how much it pains me to carry information about the weapon in my processor, and I cannot even—"

"Please," Optimus said, removing her servos from her face and pressing a finger to her mouth. "Please do not cry." His voice cracked as he spoke. Her pain was causing Optimus pain, and he hated seeing her in such a state. He wanted so badly to help her, but he had no idea how to. "I…," he choked, then his hands fell to his side as he looked down at the ground. "I want so badly to help you… but how do I help?" He looked up at her and met her eyes. "Please tell me how to help…"

Vesper's optics quivered as she looked into the optics of the one she loved. "The weapon…," she breathed, her voice shaky. "It needs to be destroyed… Maybe, when it is gone, a small part of my spark shall be redeemed." She looked away. "I could never live with myself if this weapon was used to destroy innocent lives…"

Optimus sighed, then pulled Vesper into a hug. This action surprised the femme, but she wrapped her arms around his neck. They both stayed like that for a few minutes, revelling in the touch of one another. Vesper was grateful that she had Optimus with her; she didn't believe that anybody else would understand why she had helped to build the weapon… in fact, she wasn't sure that Optimus himself entirely understood, but he seemed to be aware that the weapon's original purpose had not been to destroy entire worlds.

Vesper eventually managed to pull herself together, with Optimus' help, and together the two walked further down the stairs. Once they got to the bottom of the pit, they both noticed that the room they were in appeared to be completely empty… save for a large monitor nearby to the stairs. Vesper walked over to it and peered at it as Optimus came up behind her, and then she looked up and nodded. "This is the thing we are looking for."

Optimus frowned and looked around. "It's… just a monitor?" he asked, seemingly confused.

Vesper shook her head, then pointed down at the ground. "We're standing on the base."

Optimus looked down with wide eyes. "If we are standing on it, then how do we move it?" He looked down and tapped his foot on it. "Do you know, Vesper?" he asked.

The femme nodded as she walked over to the monitor. "Can you please move back onto the stairs?" she asked, and Optimus nodded before moving. Vesper immediately felt threatened and claustrophobic, but she fought against her fears as she started to type something into the monitor. The ground started to rumble, and Optimus shouted in alarm as he stumbled and fell backwards, landing hard on his aft. The base of the weapon that Vesper hated with all of her spark began to glow, before it just seemed to disappear, leaving the femme holding nothing more than a tablet of metal with an upraised ridge in the centre and a small glass panel on one side. Then she turned back to Optimus and smiled as she held it up. "Mission complete, sir," she said, then started to laugh as she took in the shocked expression on the Prime's face. "Are you alright?"

Optimus nodded as he got to his feet. "Yes, I am well," he said as he strode over. Then he leaned down and peered curiously at the tablet. "That… is part of a weapon?"

Vesper nodded. "Yes. This is the base in compact size." She smiled. "The only part of the weapon that cannot be compacted like this," she said, holding the tablet up, "Is the barrel of the cannon."

Optimus nodded and smiled, pleased. "Then now, all we have to find is the last piece." He turned to leave and walked back over to the stairs, but stopped at the base of them when Vesper didn't initially move. Instead, she was looking further into the murky darkness, facing away from the stairs. Optimus turned back around and peered at her curiously, then started to feel as if there was something wrong. He walked back over to Vesper, his faceplate sliding over his face and one of his servos changing into a blaster before gently pushing the femme behind them and pointing the blaster into the darkness.

"Something is here, I can feel it," Vesper breathed, hugging the compacted part of the weapon to her chassis.

Optimus nodded, his turquoise optics as cold as ice. He said nothing as he prepared himself for anything… except for Bumblebee, Miko and Jack running down the tunnel.

"Bumblebee?" he asked, his eyes widening and his faceplate sliding away. "Jack? Miko?"

Bumblebee chirped something, his optics wide with fear, and Vesper knelt down as she saw that Miko and Jack both had terrified expressions on their faces. Then they heard more footsteps, and Optimus looked up to see Ratchet, Bulkhead and Alice running along after them. Ratchet had the still unconscious Arcee in his arms, and kept looking behind him…

Almost as if something was chasing them.


	8. Chapter 7

Optimus walked over and took Arcee from Ratchet's arms as the group finally slowed to a halt in front of the two. Vesper hugged the weapon part close to her chest and watched as Optimus and Ratchet conversed, keeping their voices low. Alice was angry, ranting about how Decepticons only cared about blowing things up. Miko was close to tears, while Jack just looked mutely shocked. Bulkhead walked over and took Arcee from Optimus before setting her on the ground close to where he and Bumblebee were sitting, but neither of the bots spoke as they kept their eyes trained on the Autobot leader and the Autobot medic.

Vesper sighed, wishing she could say something to comfort them all, but she knew nothing of what was going on, and as she hugged the weapon's base to her chest, she knew that whatever words of comfort she could possibly think up would be useless. If Decepticons had attacked the Autobots, as Vesper believed, then it was because they wanted her. It was her fault.

A heaving sigh from Optimus gained her attention, and she noticed that he was slowly shaking his head. Ratchet was now sitting near the kids, and everyone's eyes were on the Prime as he started to pace, deep in thought, his right servo gripping his chin. Then he turned to everyone and said, "We are in danger, and I have come to a conclusion on what we must do." He looked at everyone in turn – Bulkhead, Bumblebee, Arcee (who was still unconscious), Ratchet, Alice, Miko, Jack, and finally Vesper – before sighing again. "It would be best for us to separate, for a time."

Everyone stared silently at the Autobot leader, who remained monotonous and calm even under such scrutiny. None of them understood why Optimus was asking them to separate, but they did understand that it would be for their own safety… even if they didn't like it or agree. He himself hated to do this – it was dividing his family – but he knew what he had to do, as the leader of the group before him.

A sigh escaped his lips. "Bumblebee," he said softly, turning towards the mute scout. "You will head to Rafael's place and hide near there," he instructed, and Bumblebee nodded. Optimus then turned to Ratchet and Alice. "You two will go together and stay in this city," he said, and the two nodded mutely as Optimus turned to Miko and Bulkhead. "You two will head to Tokyo."

"Woohoo!" Miko exclaimed, seeming to forget the seriousness of the situation, before she remembered and said, "Oops, sorry."

Optimus shook his head, ignoring the happy outburst. "Jack," he said, turning to the human boy, "You and Arcee are to hide at your place." Before Jack opened his mouth to speak, Optimus silenced him by raising his servo. "I will transport you and Arcee home before I depart."

Ratchet looked over at Vesper, who'd not said a word. "Is she going with you?" he asked, looking back at Optimus, who nodded slowly before frowning.

"I will not tell you where we are going," he warned. This was his way of saying that he and Vesper were heading back to the Autobot base, although it was probably destroyed and unsafe. Besides, he was not intending to stay back at the base for long. He intended to move on and keep Vesper – and the part of the weapon in their possession – safe. "And none of us are to contact our fellows unless I make contact first. Understand?" He looked at each one of them, and they all nodded (save for Arcee, for obvious reasons). "Good. Now, for now we'll return to base and Ground Bridge to our locations." He looked up at Ratchet, who pulled out the remote and pressed a button.

"Dangerous move, Optimus," he said, his voice strained as a bridge opened, and Optimus smiled sadly.

"But it is the fastest way to get Bulkhead and Miko to Tokyo," he said softly. Ratchet nodded and sighed, then waved goodbye as Optimus gathered up Arcee, and then the rest of Team Prime stepped into the Ground Bridge… and soon found themselves back in their destroyed base.

Vesper and Optimus looked around, shocked to the very spark, but they had no time to spare. Immediately Optimus set Arcee gently down on the floor, strode over to the Ground Bridge and typed in the coordinates to Raf's house, then opened the bridge. Bumblebee nodded as Optimus looked over at him before transforming into car form and driving away. The bridge closed after he was gone, and Miko and Bulkhead knew they were next as a new set of coordinates was typed in and a new bridge opened. They headed in, Miko looking sadly at the others before she disappeared and the bridge closed.

Finally, Optimus transformed into truck mode and his trailer materialised before hooking onto him. He instructed Jack to get in and Vesper to put Arcee in the trailer. The scarlet femme did as instructed before stepping back, and Optimus instructed her to hide out until he returned before he drove off. Vesper sighed as she sat down near the lift in the main foyer and started to shiver. She hated this and began to wish that the Autobots had never found her.

Looking down at the weapon in her hands, she scowled before throwing it away from herself and turning away. Then she curled up into a tight ball and started to tearlessly sob. She sobbed for a few hours and never noticed Optimus' return until she felt a pair of arms wrap around her and pull her into a comforting hug.

"Do not cry," Optimus said softly. "It will be alright."

Vesper looked up at him. "You believe that?" she asked, his voice strained and saturated with her misery. "The Decepticons have attacked your safe place, and your team has been divided! Yet you still claim that everything will be alright?" she asked, her voice cracking as she looked into Optimus' soft turquoise optics. She looked over at the base of the weapon, lying over near the Ground Bridge, before looking back at Optimus and saying, "How can you say that, when all of this is my fault?"

Optimus said nothing for a few moments. Then he smiled and said, "Because we will come out stronger in the end." He pushed Vesper to arm's length and regarded her curiously, his servos on her shoulders. "Now, stop crying, please. For me?" His voice was soft as he spoke, and Vesper found herself smiling sadly and nodding. This caused Optimus to smile. "Thank you," he breathed, then pulled her into another hug. Then he pushed her away gently and stood. "We need to move," he explained as she gave him a questioning look, "And try to find the final part of the weapon." He walked over and picked up the weapon's base from where it had landed and held it up.

Vesper nodded as she shakily got to her feet. "I will show you the coordinates," she said as she walked over to the only functioning monitor, then typed them in. However, she showed Optimus before she opened a bridge, and the Prime frowned.

"That is an Earth tourist attraction," he mused as he pulled up a clearer map for Vesper.

The femme frowned. "It appears to be a giant crack in the crust of this planet," she said, frowning and biting her lip. "What is so interesting about that?" She shook her head. "Humans are quite strange."

Optimus couldn't help but crack a smile and nod in agreement. "Yes, they are." He looked over at her. "However, they are good company."

Vesper smiled at the Prime, who smiled back before opening the Ground Bridge. Then the femme sighed. "This is… the last time we will see this place in a long time, is it not?" she asked, looking back at the place she had begun to call home. Optimus sighed and walked over to her before placing a servo on her shoulder. She reached up and placed her own servo on top of his, and they stood like that for a few minutes, contemplating the situation that they'd been thrown in quite suddenly. "I will miss it," the femme suddenly said, causing Optimus to look down at her with a curious gleam to his eyes. She smiled and blushed, refusing to look at the Prime's face as she said, "Because this is the place I first laid optics on you."

Optimus blushed as his spark skipped a beat; he felt embarrassed and happy at the same time. But then he became serious again as he realised that he and Vesper had delayed far too long. Handing the base of the weapon to her, Optimus motioned for Vesper to follow him, and the femme did so without hesitation, pausing only to take one last look back at the Autobot base before walking into the Ground Bridge, the green portal closing seconds after both femme and Prime disappeared. They found themselves at their destination, the Grand Canyon, and Vesper looked around before snorting and looking at Optimus.

"I do not see how this," she said, her tone neutral as she gestured at the canyon, "Is so interesting."

Optimus shrugged. "I do not know either. However, I do know that we have to go down there… but first, I will tell the others to head for more remote locations in approximately a month." Vesper simply nodded in response as Optimus pressed a finger to his audio processor. He knew that Bumblebee would be unable to relocate, so he did not make contact with the scout. He knew that Bulkhead was quite safe with Miko – a resident of Tokyo, she could simply hide him in her garage or something, although Optimus was not fond of that idea long term – so that only left Arcee and Ratchet. He patched through to Arcee, but she did not answer; she was still unconscious. So he changed his mind and contacted Ratchet.

"_Optimus, what is it?_" Ratchet asked, sounding a bit annoyed and a bit worried.

Optimus frowned. "I would like you to move from where you are in a month's time. Head to a more remote location."

"_Right_," Ratchet said, then, "_I'll catch you later then, Optimus_," before cutting the comm line. Optimus sighed as his arm fell to his side, then he looked around to notice that Vesper was sitting on the edge of the canyon, her feet dangling, looking up at the twinkling stars, the weapon's base sitting beside her. She had a sad, soft smile on her face and barely noticed when Optimus sat down, although she certainly noticed when he put his arm around her. Her arm tingled as his fingers gently brushed it, and she shivered.

"The stars are beautiful, are they not?" he mused, looking down at her and smiling softly. "And you are the most beautiful of them all." Vesper looked at him, her eyes wide, but then she smiled and leaned against him. They sat like that for a few more moments before Optimus whispered, "Look up at my face."

Vesper did as she was asked only for Optimus to kiss her, a bit more forcefully than the previous times that the two had kissed. Instead of being shocked, however, the femme melted into the kiss and returned it with just as much passionate force as Optimus. As she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled her head away, gazing tenderly into his eyes, Optimus picked her and the base of the weapon up and moved away from the edge of the canyon, deciding that it would be best to find someplace else. He soon found a cave a fair way away, and had only just set her down and had thrown the weapon part aside when she leaned back up and kissed him roughly. Optimus gasped as he felt a tingle run throughout his entire body, then he gently pulled away, much to the femme's sadness. However, he quickly returned to her, revelling in the taste of her lips. He trailed his hands down her body, causing the femme to gasp as tingles of pleasure coursed through her body.

"Optimus," she breathed as she pulled away, and Optimus felt his spark begin to beat rapidly.

"By the Allspark," he breathed, looking at her with optics filled with love and lust. "I cannot tell you," he whispered into her ear, "How much it has hurt, wanting to be with you and being unable to." His servos trailed down her body, then stopped on her hips.

"Oh Optimus," she moaned softly, enjoying every touch as she gently stroked the Prime's chest plate. As he leaned down to kiss her yet again, one of his servos trailed up her body and rested in the small of her back while the other cupped her aft, and he pressed his body gently against hers. He moved his head then, breaking off the kiss, only to resume kissing her on the neck and trailing downwards. She gasped as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

She felt something then, and glanced down to notice the large member that was protruding from Optimus' lower body. "O-Oh!" she exclaimed, shocked. Then she said, her voice low and filled with lust, "You're definitely the leader in _all_ areas," as she moved one of her servos and softly stroked his spike, drawing a loud moan from him. As her fingers stroked him, the Prime's mind started racing with thoughts on what he wanted to do to her. She suddenly looked up at him, her breathing heavy, and whispered, "Optimus, please… interface with me," gently, almost as if she was requesting his permission.

Optimus took a deep breath. "If that is your wish," he breathed. "I… must admit, I have been thinking of this moment… for a very long time." He pressed his body against hers a bit more; her reaction was to open a small port in her lower area to receive his spike.

"I…," Vesper breathed, her voice coming in gasps, "Have also waited for… ahhh…" She trailed off as Optimus gently inserted his spike into her valve, then started to moan as he began to thrust inside of her as hard as he dared, not willing to hurt her. "Optimus…," Vesper moaned. "Faster… please…" The demand was weak, yet Optimus nodded and obliged, hearing her breath growing louder as he increased his speed, although he was still careful not to hurt his dear femme in any way.

Optimus pulled out then, causing Vesper to whine in complaint, but then he lay on the ground next to her and pulled her on top of him, both gently and forcefully. "I…," he panted, "Wish for you… to take your place on top of me now." His voice was barely more than a whisper, yet Vesper still heard him.

She leaned close to his ear and whispered, "Of course," before climbing on the large device that stood erect before her. She lowered herself onto it, moaning with pleasure and throwing her head back as his shaft penetrated her port. She then began slowly moving up and down the stick, gasping as she took in his full length, then sped up her movements a little.

"Ahh… Vesper…," the Prime moaned, feeling energon beginning to build up inside his stick. "I… think… that I am… going to surge… soon," he gasped, and Vesper shivered in excitement as she thought of Optimus spilling inside of her.

She continued to ride the Prime's spike, feeling pleasure unlike anything she'd ever felt before, until she felt Optimus shudder violently underneath her. Then she felt energon fill her valve as the two gasped before she collapsed onto his chest. Shakily, Vesper climbed off of Optimus' shaft as Optimus hid it away again, and lay down on the cave floor next to him, panting loudly and heavily. Her body was filled with euphoria, as was Optimus', and they just lay together for a few minutes before Optimus leaned down and gently kissed her.

Finally Optimus spoke. "That… was amazing," he breathed as she rested her head on his chest.

"I… agree," Vesper whispered, snuggling to his chest as he wrapped his arms around her. Then she closed her eyes and drifted into sleep, leaving Optimus to look down at her and smile.

"I love you, Vesper," he whispered, able to finally admit it without fear of being heard by the others. "And I will do all in my power to make sure that you're safe and happy." A smile appeared on his face before he too yawned and drifted into sleep, feeling at ease for the first time in a very long time…


	9. Chapter 8

Optimus was the first to wake, and when he did, he looked down at Vesper and felt a small smile appear on his face as he took in her sleeping form. He looked back on the events and shook his head, disbelieving that it had ever happened. Yet, in his spark, he knew that it was no dream. He sighed and sat up, removing his arms from around Vesper, then looked over at the weapon part that both of them had completely forgotten about last night, which made the Prime remember their purpose for actually coming to the Grand Canyon.

"Optimus…?" Vesper sleepily murmured, finally opening her cyan optics and gazing up at him. He smiled down at her and gently touched her cheek with a finger. "Is it… morning already?" she yawned, her eyes closing as she fell asleep yet again. This caused Optimus to chuckle, stand, and walk over to collect the weapon part, before he returned to his sleeping femme, knelt down, and gently shook her.

"Come on, we must begin our search for the last part of this," he said, holding up the weapon base as Vesper yet again opened her eyes. This time she fully came around, and she yawned and stretched as she sat up. "And we must move, quickly," he said, frowning as he looked at the mouth of the cave. Judging from how low the sun was in the sky – it was only now just beginning to peer over the horizon – Optimus could tell that no humans would be at the canyon for a few hours yet. That would give them a bit of time to actually go into the chasm and start their search for the weapon part.

Vesper sighed as she stood, then took the base of the weapon from Optimus and looked at it. Then she shook her head, turned to the Prime and said, "Let us go, then," before turning on her heel and walking out of the cave. Optimus noticed that she seemed to have a very slight, almost unnoticeable limp, and he frowned but said nothing as he followed her. The sunlight was blinding, and he had to blink a few times, but his optics quickly adjusted. Vesper seemed a little more stunned, but she too rapidly adjusted and walked over to the edge of the canyon before peering down.

"Careful," Optimus warned, walking over and looking down. Being much taller than her, he didn't have to lean over to look down the giant chasm, which made him feel more than slightly worried about Vesper, who was leaning over and almost standing on the very points of her pedes. "If you fall, you will hurt yourself."

Vesper nodded. "I am aware of that, Optimus," she said, leaning back and frowning. "I do, however, want to know how to get down there." She peered over the edge again, before sighing and looking back at Optimus. "Do you have a suggestion?"

Optimus shrugged. "Perhaps we can climb?" he asked.

Vesper shook her head. "And what if we fall?" she asked, her voice worried, as she bit her lip. "We will damage something, and if it is a backstrut… we are absolutely going to offline!" She shook her head. "I insist we find another way."

Optimus shook his head. "We have no other alternative, Vesper." He crossed his arms and started to tap one of his pedes. "We have no access to a Ground Bridge, and we cannot fly."

This revelation seemed to frustrate and worry Vesper, who looked away and shook her head. "I… absolutely cannot do it."

"Vesper," Optimus said, walking over and putting his servo on her shoulder, squeezing gently in an attempt to comfort the femme, "I know that you are afraid, but we have no other way." He frowned then; he knew of only one way to convince her to climb down the sheer cliff, but he also knew that it would be seen as guilt-tripping, and he had been hoping to avoid that. However, he knew that he really had no other option anymore, so with a heaving sigh he said, "You do not want the Decepticons to get their hands on it, do you?"

Vesper stiffened, and Optimus knew that his plan had worked. It was painful for him to do that, but he knew that it had to be so much worse for her. She hated the mere mention of the weapon, the very thought of it, but she hated the fact that the Decepticons wanted the weapon so much worse. She hugged the base of the weapon to her chest and lowered her head, making Optimus' spark hurt. "You knew that that would work, did you not?" she asked, her voice strained, and Optimus hesitated.

"Unfortunately, I will have to admit that I knew," he said, his voice soft. "But I do regret saying that."

Vesper sighed. "Fine. I will scale the cliff." It was incredibly difficult for her to say that, but somehow she managed to force her voice-box to get the words out. But then she looked up at Optimus. "But if I fall, I—"

"You will not fall," Optimus mused, a small smile appearing on his face. "I will not let you." Then he removed his servo from her shoulder and walked closer to the edge. He stopped and looked back at her, motioning for her to follow, then began his descent. Vesper, after steeling herself for a few minutes, followed the Prime's example, putting the weapon in her personal subspace before doing so.

The two Cybertronians descended the cliff quickly, and before they even realised it, their pedes were on the ground. Optimus looked over at Vesper just as the femme said, "I must apologise for doubting you, it seems," as she looked over at him, and the Prime merely chuckled.

"Do not worry about it," he said, then looked around as his face became deadly serious. "We must locate the weapon part soon." His tone was grim, which made Vesper wonder if there were Decepticons coming for them. She shivered at that very thought, and decided that Optimus was correct.

The two immediately began their search, with Vesper leading the way, until they came to a part of the chasm that looked a bit different to the rest of it… at least, to the femme, in any case. When Vesper noted this to Optimus, he merely questioned how she could actually tell, mainly because he could see absolutely no difference. So when she launched into a tangent about how the rocks were slightly discoloured, Optimus found himself completely lost and confused.

Suddenly they heard the sound of footsteps, and Vesper fell silent as both she and her companion turned around to see something that they'd prayed to Primus that they wouldn't see. A group of Decepticons were staring at them, having just rounded the corner, and both Autobots could tell that they were tremendously outnumbered.

Thankfully for the both of them, the Decepticons before them were mere Vehicons, quite possibly acting under orders. Optimus' face-plate immediately slid over his mouth, and his turquoise eyes immediately became icy cold as he changed his servos into blasters. Vesper, although she wanted to help, knew that she was going to be more of a hindrance than a helping servo, so she backed off and transformed her right servo into her blaster in the event that she would need to use it.

Optimus, noticing the change from servo to weapon on her end, hoped that she would not be forced into a combat role. He glared at the Vehicons, almost daring them to try and get her and the weapon that both factions sought, but none of them moved. Each 'Con had their blasters raised, however, and they were all pointed at the Prime, who stood his ground and refused to move.

"Optimus," Vesper whimpered, "What are we going to do?"

Optimus was about to speak, but something deep within his spark warned him not to, and he soon found out why. Contrary to what he and Vesper had believed, the Decepticons before them did not just consist of Vehicons. At the very back, there was a Decepticon that Optimus could not believe was still alive. His red eyes and silver paint job were not the most precise giveaway, but the wings – emblazoned with the Decepticon symbol – and the thin body of the 'Con were the details that Optimus could recognise.

"Starscream," he noted, his voice low and dangerous. He did not notice that, behind him, Vesper stiffened. Thoughts started to race through her head, and she shivered. Hearing Starscream's name made her extremely glad that she had hidden the base of the weapon in her personal subspace.

"Ah, Optimus Prime," Starscream mused, his voice slick and evil, "What brings you to such a… remote location?" His red optics bored into the Prime's blue ones.

"I am under no jurisdiction to tell you that," Optimus said, keeping his voice even.

"Really now?" Starscream said, looking slyly at Vesper, who stiffened even more and stumbled backwards, trying to get as far away from the Decepticon as she possibly could. Of course, as her back touched the rocky wall of the canyon, she knew that she couldn't get any further away unless she started to climb… and that was not something she could do anymore. She had absolutely no idea if humans were around, and she understood that the Autobots were trying to keep hidden as much as they could.

"Leave, Starscream, or I will be forced to take action," Optimus threatened, but his threat only served to make the stiletto-heeled Decepticon laugh.

"I am not going anywhere… not without _her_," he hissed, pointing a thin finger at the cowering Vesper. Optimus' eyes flashed dangerously as he looked back at her, then back at Starscream. "Lord Megatron… demands it."

"Do not listen to him," Vesper choked. "He does not want to take me to Megatron."

"I would not allow you to fall into Decepticon hands," Optimus growled, glaring at Starscream. Suddenly something whizzed overhead, and Optimus looked up just as Megatron himself landed directly behind his minion. If Optimus believed that his current situation had been bad before, he now knew that it had gotten so much worse.

Megatron regarded the Prime with cold, calculating eyes, before his gaze trailed towards Vesper. A nasty smile appeared on his face and his eyes blazed with some sort of horrible intention. "Well, it seems as if you have played directly into my hands, Optimus Prime," the Decepticon warlord snarled, his eyes flicking over to Optimus.

Optimus stiffened. "I… do not follow," he admitted, his voice still neutral.

Megatron snorted. "I do not expect you to," he snarled, before leaping forward and slamming his shoulder into Optimus' chest. The Prime immediately flew backwards, narrowly missing a terrified Vesper, and slammed into the rocky wall of the cliff before slumping to the ground and groaning. He tried to stand, but found that he couldn't; Megatron had hit him hard enough to hurt him badly and it didn't help that the point of impact was directly above his spark chamber.

As Megatron strode over to Vesper, the femme's thoughts were racing. She didn't want to go on board the _Nemesis_ and help with Megatron's twisted plans. She also feared being on board the same ship as Starscream, for reasons that she could never bring herself to mention.

"Now, my dear," Megatron said, his voice loud enough for Optimus to hear. The Prime, still struggling to get to his pedes, felt rage course through his body. "You will return with us, whether you like it or not."

"I will not," Vesper hissed, trying not to show her fear, "Help you with your twisted plan."

"You speak as though you have a choice," Megatron hissed, his servo abruptly snaking out and wrapping around the femme's neck. He squeezed gently, drawing a choked gasp of horror from her, then looked back at Optimus, who still could not get up. "I will let you live, Optimus… for now, in any case," he said, his red optics gleaming with satisfaction.

"Let… her… go!" Optimus snarled, finally managing to drag himself to his feet. However, he swayed and was clearly in no condition to try and fight against Megatron.

Megatron, realising this, grinned maliciously. "You are in no condition to tell me that," he said, his voice soft, yet filled with evil intent. Then he turned to his Vehicons and pointed at the segment of the canyon wall that Vesper had been standing in front of. "Break it open; I want the final weapon part."

"You… will never… activate it…," Vesper choked, and Megatron looked down at her before snorting and tightened his grip on her throat, drawing a choked squeak from her. The Vehicons, obeying their master's orders, shoved Optimus to the ground and went to complete their task, although a few did keep their weapons pointed at the almost-helpless Prime.

"I don't need you for that, my dear," he said, his voice low, and Vesper found her cyan optics widening. "I already have the activation codes."

Vesper squirmed in Megatron's grip. "H-How… did you… get them?" she choked out, and Megatron started laughing as the Vehicons got through the wall, and one of them entered the gaping hole that they'd made. The same one soon stepped out, holding what appeared to be the frame of a large cube, and Vesper's eyes widened as she realised that it was the final piece of the weapon; the part where the power source was to go.

Megatron smiled as the Vehicon walked over and handed him the final weapon part. "The damaged processor of your old mentor." Megatron looked down at his captive. "His memory banks… still hold the information that Soundwave needed to extract."

Vesper's optics widened. "Then… urk… why do… you need… me?" she gasped.

Megatron looked over at Optimus, who was again attempting to get up. Then, loud enough for the struggling Prime to hear, he said, "You will be our power source."

Optimus felt himself stiffen. "N-No…," he breathed.

Megatron's grin widened. "It helps that you carry the second piece of the weapon," he said, his voice soft. Then he turned away from Optimus and transformed into his altmode – a Cybertronian fighter jet – and, taking Vesper with him, zoomed off towards the _Nemesis_. The Vehicons and Starscream all transformed – although not before Starscream kicked Optimus in the side of the head, knocking him out – and headed off after their lord and master, leaving the Prime in the middle of the Grand Canyon.

And the rest of Team Prime was completely unaware of the fate of their leader and their new addition.

In New York, Ratchet and Alice were trying to stay hidden from prying Decepticon eyes, living at one of Alice's dad's many rentable apartments.

In Tokyo, Bulkhead and Miko were staying with Miko's parents' place, and spending most of their time driving around and listening to heavy metal music.

In Jasper, Bumblebee and Raf were staying at Raf's place, with Raf continuing his normal life as much as he could.

And on the move were Arcee – who had finally woken – and Jack, trying to avoid Decepticons. Bumblebee had told Arcee of the arrangements as soon as she had woken, but she had decided to just move on as soon as she could. June – Jack's mother – had been taken to Special Agent William Fowler and was now in his custody, which ensured her safety.

Each one of them was blissfully unaware that Vesper had been stolen and was soon to be used to power a weapon. Each one of them was blissfully unaware that Optimus was struggling to even move, and needed desperate medical attention due to his spark chamber being damaged.

And each one of them was blissfully unaware that their lives were about to turn upside down…


	10. Chapter 9

Optimus woke slowly, and was immediately assaulted with chest pains. He groaned as he managed to sit up, leaning against the rock wall and gingerly put a hand on the large dent that Megatron had given him when the Decepticon had slammed his shoulder into the Prime's chest. He had found himself incredibly weak and knew that he needed Ratchet's assistance, but he also knew that there was no way he could travel to New York, not in the condition he was in… if Ratchet hadn't already moved on.

Pressing a finger to his audio processor, Optimus prayed that he would still be able to get a hold of someone. However, he found that he was unable to, and he grunted in pain as his servo fell to his side. It did not help that he was not only in physical pain, but emotional pain as well. He closed his eyes as he thought about Vesper, and he found pain tearing at his spark. He had failed to protect her and keep her from Decepticon hands, and now he didn't know if he would ever see her or any of the others again. He'd listened, heard Megatron say that he already had the codes, and had realised then that Vesper was going to be nothing more than a sacrifice in order to power the weapon she had so desperately tried to keep away from the Decepticon army.

"It… is not over," Optimus breathed. He feebly struggled to his feet and stumbled over to the hole in the canyon wall, then, realising that it was more painful to remain here, decided to climb the canyon wall. He looked up at the dark sky, watching as the stars twinkled and shimmered, and sighed before beginning his agonising, slow ascent. Each movement of his made his chest hurt, and his spark sometimes faltered for a few seconds. However, he made it up to the top of the canyon, and immediately transformed into his altmode and drove off.

Meanwhile, in New York, Ratchet and Alice were walking around in the mall. Ratchet, taking advantage of his human holomatter form, was walking around after an overly excited Alice, who was carrying bags and bags of clothes. He did not share his human charge's excitement, however. He was concerned that something had happened – he could feel that something had gone wrong, deep within his spark – but he had absolutely no idea what it was. Of course, he did not want to mention this to Alice, who was finally happy. She had been very dreary the day before, but now she was exceptionally jovial, and he did not want to ruin her mood.

"Ratch?" she asked, snapping the medic out of his thoughts as she grabbed his arm. He had not realised that she'd stopped and that he'd had almost walked past her. He smiled lightly at her, trying desperately to hide the fact that he was troubled, but it didn't work. Her frown – so out of place on her face – indicated that his attempt had been completely fruitless, and he sighed.

"Yes, Alice?" he asked, trying to keep his voice even, although it still quivered the tiniest bit.

Alice flicked a strand of her white hair out of her eyes. She'd made the attempt to put it in a stylishly messy bun, but a few strays had managed to escape her hairband. "I think we should cut our shopping spree short," she said, her tone light, but the look in her eyes told Ratchet that she was aware that he wasn't saying something. He nodded in agreement, and the two departed from the mall, walking over to the ambulance. If people thought it was weird to see a teenage girl with a tonne of shopping and an old man who looked weary get into an ambulance, they were doing very well keeping their thoughts to themselves.

It was only when they'd pulled away from the mall did Alice finally ask if something was bothering Ratchet. For a few minutes the bot hesitated, not wanting to mention anything, but he eventually relented and said, "I think something's gone wrong."

Alice frowned at him. "What do you mean? I don't follow," she said, her voice confused.

Ratchet's human holoform shook his head. "I just… think something has happened to one of the other bots."

Alice's eyes widened. "We have to get in contact with them then!" she exclaimed, and Ratchet sighed.

"I can't do that, Alice. I have standing orders," he said, even though it was obvious to the human girl that Ratchet didn't want to follow those orders anymore. Silence followed as Alice crossed her arms over her chest, silently telling Ratchet how she felt about his inclination to actually listen to his orders. This resulted in an angry growl from the Autobot, followed by the words, "Hey, I'm not exactly happy with it either!"

"Then disobey!" Alice exclaimed, turning her head and snorting.

Ratchet snorted in response. "And risk getting detected by Decepticons? No, I—" He fell silent as his comm line started to beep, and he and Alice instantly knew that either someone had disobeyed Optimus… or it was Optimus himself. Ratchet decided to pick up and say, "Who is this?" in a worried yet cautious tone.

"_Ratchet, drive to these coordinates_," Optimus instructed, and Alice took note of the fact that the Prime seemed out of breath. "_I will tell the others. Remain safe._" With that, the Prime cut off the comm line, and Ratchet drove silently for a few minutes until the coordinates came through.

"Alright, Alice," Ratchet said, "We'll head to your place, drop your things off, then head off."

Alice groaned. "Awh, c'mon! Can't we—" She cut herself off when she noticed the glare she was getting from the human holoform sitting next to her, and she realised that she'd spoken out of line. It was obvious that Ratchet had picked up on Optimus' breathlessness as well, and he was worried, so she simply decided to nod and say, "Alright." Ratchet stopped glaring at her and drove to her place, although he could not shake the feeling that Optimus was in a lot more strife than what Ratchet knew…

And he wasn't the only one. Jack and Arcee were driving towards the coordinates Optimus had set, neither of them talking, yet both of them silently agreeing that something bad was about to happen. Bumblebee and Raf – who was now ungrounded – were also heading towards the rendezvous point, not worried about Raf being grounded again because Agent Fowler had explained to Raf's mother that Raf needed to come with him, that it was of the utmost importance, and that not much else could be explained to her. She had, after much argument, agreed, and now they were on their way. Agent Fowler had decided not to tag along and just keep a watchful eye on June, who was still under his protection.

It was Bulkhead and Miko who were having the most difficulties. Being in Tokyo, the two couldn't readily get to the rendezvous point, but that had already been taken care of. Before they had departed, Ratchet had given Miko the Ground Bridge remote control and had instructed her to keep it safe, so they warped back to the destroyed, abandoned Autobot base before opening yet another bridge close to the rendezvous point.

The only one Optimus never contacted was the one he couldn't. Vesper, a prisoner of the Decepticons, was locked in a dark room and chained to the roof. If she was able to produce tears, they would have long since dried. She had given up struggling, attempting to escape, a fair few hours ago, and now she was just dangling limply, resigned to her fate. In her spark she knew that Optimus would attempt to save her, but in her processor, there were only doubts. Doubts that she would survive, doubts that she would be able to destroy the very thing she was going to be used to power.

The door slid open then, and Vesper slowly looked up with tired optics to see Megatron standing before her, looking unimpressed. A small smile appeared on her face; she knew exactly why Megatron looked so unimpressed and annoyed. It was because, no matter what he did to her, she had so far refused to give the other two parts of the weapon to the Decepticon.

"So," Megatron said, his voice smooth yet his teeth were bared, his optics blazing with anger. "Are you going to give up the last two weapon parts?" he hissed as Knockout stepped out from behind him, along with Starscream. She shivered as her optics settled on the stiletto-heeled Decepticon, and she prayed to Primus himself that she wouldn't be left alone with him.

The femme shook her head defiantly. "Never," she hissed, her optics glowing with defiant intent.

Megatron angrily snorted, baring his razor-sharp dentas. Then he turned to Starscream. "Get those weapon pieces, no matter what," he hissed, and Vesper felt horror and fear flood through her, although she said nothing. When Megatron and Knockout left the room, Starscream immediately turned to Vesper and smiled maliciously.

"Do not," Vesper hissed, trying to inject a menacing tone into her voice, "Touch me."

Starscream's malicious smile grew. "I don't think," he said, his voice low as he strode over and gently stroked Vesper's cheek with a thin finger, causing her to jerk her head to the side, "You're in any condition to tell me what to do." This caused the femme's eyes to widen, and she began to struggle wildly, but she already knew that it was completely hopeless. So all she could do, as a prisoner of the Decepticons and Starscream's twisted intent, was hope to the Allspark that Optimus would save her…

Optimus, however, was in no condition to be saving anyone, even if he wanted to. His spark problems were affecting his altmode as well, and he was now pulled over on the side of the road with engine problems. His human holomatter form – designated Peter, which had been the source of many a joke from the others considering that Optimus' altmode was a Peterbilt – was a good thing to have in this event. Optimus could check his own engine troubles without having to transform into robot mode, something that he could not do on a busy road such as the one he'd been driving on moments ago.

He sighed as he managed to jumpstart his engine again, but in his spark Optimus knew that if he didn't get to Ratchet soon, he would be in trouble. He continued on his way, hoping that he would at least get to a town before he broke down again. He could not stop thinking about how he'd failed Vesper, which was weighing incredibly heavily on his faltering spark.

He finally turned off the busy road he was on and headed to a nice little secluded area. There was always a risk of getting spotted, but Optimus could not find the time to care. He was in pain, and as he transformed he laid on the grass, trying to breathe a little easier. Getting to the rendezvous point was not easy on him, but he knew that he absolutely had to try to get there. If he didn't, then he had failed them all.

As he felt himself drifting off into sleep, Optimus wondered if any of the others had reached the rendezvous point… and how long it would take him to get there, having spark troubles as he was. He was not aware that Bulkhead and Miko, having used the Ground Bridge, had already gotten there. Ratchet, Alice, Bulkhead, Raf, Arcee and Jack were already on their way and were much closer than Optimus would be for a long while. In fact, the Prime was not even sure if he would make it.

Bulkhead wondered where the others were as he finally reached the rendezvous point and let Miko out before transforming back into robot mode. Miko was glad to stretch her legs, but she too wondered where the others were. She missed them, although she would never admit that. Instead, she asked Bulkhead why they'd been summoned to this area in particular. The olive green bot shrugged, not knowing the specifics either.

"Oh c'mon," Miko complained. "You have to know!"

Bulkhead shook his head and shrugged again. "Nope. Although, Optimus seemed pretty roughed up when he commed," he said, frowning.

Miko fell silent for a bit then, with uncharacteristic meekness, said, "Hopefully everyone is alright." She had absolutely no idea that she was hoping for something that could not happen for a long while, not while Optimus was in so much pain.

Bulkhead sighed. "I really hope so too, Miko," he said. Then he yawned. "I'm going to bed," he sleepily droned, then sat down against a tree before closing his optics and going into recharge mode. Miko was about to wake him up, but she too felt tired, so she simply walked over and sat down next to Bulkhead before falling asleep herself.

The others who had not reached the designated coordinates had all pulled into hotels, save for Ratchet and Alice, and were staying the night at them. Jack was staying alone, as Arcee had had no use for Sadie – her human holoform – during their trip. Bumblebee and Raf were a different story; as Raf was not old enough to drive, Bumblebee had had to use his holoform – a mute boy in his late teenage years – in order to make their cover story believable.

Ratchet and Alice pulled into a hidden little grove. Alice did not want to stay in a hotel, and Ratchet completely respected that. Instead, she slept in the Autobot medic's cab, and that was how they spent the night. Each one of the Autobots –Bulkhead, Bumblebee, Arcee and Ratchet – slept uneasily, wondering why their leader had summoned them to meet so early. None of them could shake the feeling that Optimus was in trouble…

And that he was not the only one.


	11. Chapter 10

When Bulkhead and Miko awoke, they noticed that they were not alone. Arcee and Jack, as well as Bumblebee and Raf, were sitting in the clearing, and just arriving were Alice and Ratchet. The olive green bot and the Japanese girl immediately stood and greeted their fellows, happy to see that most of them had made it alive and well. However, each and every one of them became miserable when they noticed that two of their little convoy – Optimus Prime and Vesper – were missing.

"I'm sure that they've simply been delayed," Arcee mused, although she had no idea of the truth. "They were heading for the last part of the weapon, after all; who knows where it was?" she asked, shrugging her shoulders.

Ratchet nodded in agreement, although he could definitely not shake the feeling that something was off. He did not mention this to the others, however, who were chatting animatedly, as if nothing was amiss. The only one who seemed to share Ratchet's feelings was Arcee, who was simply standing back and just listening to what the others were talking about. Currently, Bumblebee was explaining how he'd managed to keep himself entertained while Raf had been grounded without blowing his cover, which could not have ever been easy for the speedster. Laughter followed Bee's story, and then Miko launched into a story about what she and Bulkhead had done while trapped in Tokyo.

Hours passed, and soon enough all tales had been told. Now, silence reigned as the group waited for Optimus, who was slowly driving towards their position. Twice he'd broken down, and pain wracked his entire body as he drove. Quite a number of times the Prime had had to pull over due to the incredible pain, but he'd soldiered on in an effort to get to the rendezvous point before the others began to panic, wonder where he was, and do something irrational.

Unfortunately, he just could not do it. His engine failed him yet again, but this time, he knew that he was not going to be able to restart it. He flicked on his hazard lights and pulled over, then turned off and sat there quietly, struggling to breathe and to fight against his pain. He knew that he had to attempt to patch communication through to the other Autobots, and he knew that – even though he was in incredible pain – he had no choice but to make contact.

"This… is Optimus Prime," Optimus gasped as he attempted to make contact, although he had absolutely no idea if Ratchet or any of the others had heard him. "I… will not be able… to make it to… the… rendezvous point," he managed to choke out, then had no choice but to cut off the communication. He did not want Decepticons to find him, and he did not want the others to be harmed because of him.

He fell asleep for a while, but was rudely awoken when he felt a tap on his grille. He came to and scanned his surroundings, then found that he was not alone. There was an ambulance in front of him, and a human girl with white hair was sitting inside. To his right there was a blue motorbike with a teenage boy sitting on top, as well as an olive green armoured car with a younger human girl inside. Behind him, there was a yellow and black muscle car, and inside of that there was a young boy. The humans got out of their vehicles – except in the case of the teenage boy, who stepped off of the motorcycle – and walked over to the unmoving Peterbilt.

"Optimus," Alice breathed, running her hand along the side of the Prime's cab. "You're in a bad way." She shook her head and sighed, then turned back to the ambulance. "Ratch, can you—"

"I cannot help him. Not here," the medic replied, and Alice heard herself sigh again. Then she turned back to Optimus and frowned. Ratchet released a sigh. "He needs to be towed to a more remote…" He trailed off as he realised that something was definitely wrong. Optimus was completely alone. "Optimus," Ratchet breathed, "Where is Vesper?"

"Never mind that for now!" Jack stomped his foot down, drawing everyone's attention. "Shouldn't we get Optimus somewhere where we can repair him?" He looked at everyone, who all sighed in agreement. Soon enough, Bulkhead and Bumblebee were towing Optimus off-road, and the Prime was trying not to complain about how much pain he was in. It was not just physical pain, either. The fact that Ratchet had mentioned Vesper had just reminded him of how little he had been able to do for her.

When they got to a safe place, the rest of the Cybertronians transformed into back into their primary modes. The only one who did not transform was Optimus himself; he found himself in too much pain to even attempt it. Unfortunately, Ratchet informed him that he could not perform repairs unless Optimus forced himself to transform, no matter how painful it was for him. Optimus, although he did not want to, forced his body to undergo transformation, although the agonised scream that came from him was not pleasant to the ears of anyone who heard it.

When Ratchet finally took a look at Optimus, he was astounded by the amount of damage that had been caused. Optimus' spark chamber was half-crushed due to the brute force that Megatron had used to inflict damage, and Ratchet began to understand that Optimus and Vesper had come under attack.

"Yet that still doesn't explain where Vesper is," Ratchet mused to himself, but Optimus heard him and coughed. Everyone looked at him, and it was then that everyone noticed the emotional pain. It was very clear on his face, in his optics, and not a single one of them wanted to ask what had happened. There were only two answers that Optimus could give: Vesper was dead, or Vesper was a captive of the Decepticons.

"I hope that she's only a captive of the Decepticons," Alice whimpered, and Optimus looked over at her. She looked over at him, and her body stiffened when she saw the agonised look in the Prime's eyes. "I mean," she said, looking away, "It's better than her being dead, right?"

"At present time," Optimus said, his voice a little stronger, which was a good sign, "It would be better off for Vesper to be dead."

"Wait, why?!" Raf demanded, shocked. Optimus looked away, his spark hurting as everyone's eyes rested on him. "Optimus, you can't be—"

"Do not," Optimus choked, looking back at everyone, his voice quivering as he resisted the urge to start crying. "Please." He looked away yet again. "Vesper… is to be used as the sacrifice. Her spark is to be used to power the weapon."

"Then you can't give up!" Miko exclaimed, storming over to Optimus and poking the Prime in the leg. "Vesper needs you!"

This drew anger from Optimus. His head jerked around to face her and his turquoise optics narrowed dangerously. "Do you think," he hissed, "That I do not know that?" He stood up, swaying on his pedes, and glared at the girl. Then he sighed as he stumbled and fell back on his aft. He tried to suck in a few breaths of air, and then clutched at his chest. "I… am sorry, Miko," he said, looking apologetically up at Miko, who shrugged it off like it was nothing. But it wasn't nothing. Optimus knew that something was horribly, horribly wrong. And he was right, even if he did not know it.

On board the _Nemesis_, Vesper was in agony. Every part of her was in pain, and she just wanted to be put out of her misery. Megatron had organised for Starscream to be her torturer, and torture it was. She had endured horrible things – being prodded repeatedly by an energon prod, having large gashes inflicted upon her person – but only one thing had made her as sore as she was. She could still feel him inside of her, and it made a tingle run up her backstrut.

Yet, even being put through torture of that kind had not been enough to get her to give up the weapon parts that she had in her possession. Vesper knew that she was not to give them over, no matter if it cost her everything, including her spark.

The door suddenly opened, and Vesper weakly looked up to see Megatron stride through the door. This time, however, he was unaccompanied. He looked very irritated, and as soon as he met Vesper's defiant eyes his irritation grew. He stormed over and stopped in front of the hanging mech, then crossed his arms and snarled at her. "You are becoming a problem," he growled, which only drew an unamused snort from the femme.

"As are you, Megatron," she said, her tone light and conversational, but this only drew an angrier snarl from the Decepticon warlord before he slapped her. Her head jerked to the side as pain bloomed within her cheek, and her optics widened as she looked back up at him, shocked.

"I would hold your glossa, you miserable whelp," he hissed as he wrapped his fingers around her throat and squeezed. "You _will_ give me those weapon parts!" He leaned closer, and she flinched away as his dentas neared her face. "Or you _will_ suffer even more."

"It does not matter to me how much I suffer," Vesper stated determinedly. "The only thing that matters to me is that you do _not_ utilise the weapon for your own twisted schemes." She turned her head away, expecting another blow, but nothing came. Instead, she heard cold laughter, and she looked back to notice that Megatron had walked back over to the door, and was looking back at her with a smile that revealed all of his sharp dentas.

"Well, aren't you feisty," he said, his red optics blazing. "But you will not keep the weapon parts from me forever," he hissed, then he turned on his heel and departed, leaving Vesper dangling in the room on her lonesome. She struggled and squirmed, trying to get out of the damned manacles that held her, but she found soon enough that her bonds were inescapable. Suddenly the door opened again, and she looked up just as Knockout walked in. He didn't pay much attention to her at first; instead he grabbed something from nearby. Then he turned his attention to Vesper, a cruel smile on his face as he held out the tool, which happened to be a scalpel.

"If you don't give up the weapon parts," he said, his voice low as he regarded the femme before him, "One limb comes off, and so forth." Then he looked up, his optics filled with sadistic glee. "You get the point."

Vesper snorted. "Cut off my servos! Cut off my pedes! Do what you will to me!" she exclaimed, her defiance getting the best of her. She knew that it would be better for her to just relent, but she also knew that if she did, she would never be able to live with herself knowing that she had helped to destroy humanity… and the other Autobots. "But I will never give you the pieces of the weapon!"

Knockout snorted. "Well then, if that is how you'll be," he said, snarling for once. "Then I will have no choice but to start with—"

Vesper kicked out, smashing Knockout in the chin and sending him flying backwards into a nearby wall, as well as causing him to drop the tool he was about to attack Vesper with. He growled as he stood up, then stalked back over only to get kicked in the chassis. Vesper, doing this, grated her foot against the Decepticon's chest, mangling his perfectly buffed paint job… which only served to infuriate him. He immediately changed his servo into his trademark buzz-saw and stormed towards her, and it was then that Vesper realised that she had gone a little bit too far.

The door opening saved her life, and Vesper was much relieved… until she saw that it was Starscream who had saved her. This time, however, Starscream didn't appear to be in the sort of mood to play games, and after he screamed at Knockout to leave (and he did, very quickly too), he turned to Vesper as the door closed and his optics narrowed.

"You have been very annoying," he growled as he stalked forward and lightly ran his finger over her cheek, causing the femme to flinch away in both disgust and fear. "Lord Megatron is not pleased, nor am I," he hissed, his voice low as he said the last part.

Vesper's upper lip curled in disgust, baring her dentas. "I am glad that you are not plea—ah!" she cried as Starscream touched her in between her legs. As much as she hated it, the femme couldn't help but feel thrills of pleasure shoot up her body.

"Let's have a little fun, shall we?" Starscream hissed, his voice even lower as he forced her valve open. Pain made her cry out, and she immediately tried to close her legs, but Starscream jammed his leg between hers and stopped her.

As Starscream touched her and horribly pleasured her, Vesper struggled and tried to stop him, but she just couldn't. Her throat closed up, her processor turned to a useless clump of melted metal. Her spark was beating wildly, and she prayed to Primus that it would stop. But she knew that the likelihood of Primus hearing her pleas was minimal; what she had done previously could never be redeemed.

"S-Stop!" Vesper pitifully whimpered, and Starscream paused, cocking his head to the side, his eyes glowing maliciously.

"Give me the pieces of the weapon," he hissed, pressing his body against hers so that Vesper felt his shaft digging into her thigh, "And I will."

An ultimatum that she had been given many times before, and not once had she considering giving in. Even now she did not consider it, but there was also a small part of her – small, but growing – that wanted this vile pleasuring – this forced interface – to stop, and it was that small part that was willing to give everything up.

Vesper looked up at Starscream, gazing into his lust-filled, expectant eyes. It was almost as if he were daring her to decline giving him the weapon parts. Vesper sighed, looking away. She squeezed her optics shut, cursing herself for what she was about to do, and she prayed that Optimus would understand… if he ever found her.

The femme opened her optics and looked into Starscream's before saying clearly, "Fine. I… will give Megatron the parts." She hung her head, ashamed and upset. "Take me to him."

Starscream was disappointed that the femme had finally relented, but at the same time he was gleeful. He stepped away from the femme and her valve closed as he unchained her from the roof. She collapsed to the ground before shakily standing, then stared miserably down at her wrists as the Seeker clapped a pair of cuffs on them, then led her out of the room and towards the bridge, where Megatron was.

The Decepticon warlord was pacing, growling something at the silent Soundwave, but he stopped in his tracks when Vesper stumbled in, being led by Starscream. The Seeker forced her to her knees in front of the warlord, who smiled slowly, revealing his sharp dentas. "Well?" he asked, awaiting Starscream's report, although it was clear to all that he already knew that Vesper was giving up the weapons.

Starscream smirked. "She has finally relented, master," he said, stepping back as Megatron strode forward and grabbed Vesper around the head.

"The weapon parts, then," he hissed, and Vesper tiredly nodded before Megatron dropped her. She summoned the two parts from her personal subspace, and they fell to the ground with loud clangs. Soundwave immediately gathered them up and walked away, towards the area where the first part of the weapon was contained. "Thank you, Vesper," he said, turning away from her and looking at Starscream, nodding at him, which was a silent order to take her away.

Starscream picked the femme up and bowed to Megatron before dragging her away, back to where she had been imprisoned earlier. Then, after he chained her back up, he departed, the door closing after and plunging her into gloomy darkness yet again. She hung in silence, ashamed and defeated. She could not believe that she'd done such a thing; she had betrayed the Autobots. She had betrayed humankind.

"So," she sobbed to herself, "He was right after all." She squeezed her optics shut. "My mentor knew that this would happen… and I did not listen." Her spark throbbed with pain and betrayal. "Optimus Prime, forgive me…," she breathed, even though she knew that he would not hear her. In fact, she doubted that he would hear her, and if he did…

She doubted that he would ever forgive her for what she had done.


	12. Chapter 11

Team Prime stepped inside of their base, looking sadly at the destruction. They had been driving for a fair while, and they had finally decided to return to the one place they could call home on Earth. Yet they knew that they had to figure out a plan, and quickly, too. Optimus didn't know if Vesper had given in yet, but he prayed to Primus that she hadn't. He knew that he wouldn't be able to forgive himself for being unable to protect her if she perished, but he quickly pushed those thoughts out of his head and tried to think positively.

"Optimus," Ratchet said, distracting Optimus from his thoughts, for which he was grateful for. "We need to locate the Decepticon vessel." Optimus nodded in agreement, and listened at the ideas of the others. Alice, at one point, suggested that they fly around and search for it in the sky, but Ratchet promptly responded with, "None of us have the means to fly, and if we did, the Decepticons still have aerial superiority." His tone suggested that he thought Alice's idea was a stupid one, even though he actually didn't believe that and was merely grumpy, which caused the white haired human girl to glare at her guardian and question if he had any better ideas.

"Alice," Optimus said, his voice softly chastising, "Ratchet is very tense at the moment. He does not mean to snap." He shook his head. "Please do not think that he dislikes your idea."

Alice sighed and crossed her arms over her chest, then looked over at her guardian and smiled softly. "Sorry for snapping, Ratch," she said. The medic nodded and replied with an apology of his own. Then everyone turned to Optimus, waiting for him to think up a plan. He frowned and looked away, unsure of what to do. As a Prime, he was expected to be a leader, but he was unsure of how to lead them at current time. The Matrix of Leadership, hidden away in his chest, was not helping him here.

Suddenly Bumblebee beeped something, and everyone looked over at him with wide optics (except for Jack, Alice, and Miko, who didn't understand him). Then Optimus tentatively nodded and said, "It is worth a try."

"What did he suggest?" Miko asked, leaning against Bulkhead's leg and crossing her arms over her chest. Bulkhead told her that Bee had suggested that they use one of themselves as bait, and that it was the only choice they really had. Miko was silent for a few moments before saying, "Who will be the bait?"

It was a unanimous decision, as everyone looked at Optimus, who nodded in agreement with the silent decision. He knew that it was him that Megatron wanted to kill most of all, and he would gladly die if it meant that he could save humankind and the lives of his Autobots. He knew that there was a large chance that Megatron, after killing Optimus, would simply kill off the others as well, no matter if the Prime and the warlord agreed that the others would not be harmed.

"Well," Ratchet said after a while, breaking the silence that had settled over the group, "We should begin our preparations, should we not?" He looked at Optimus, and his blue optics seemed nervous, worried for the Prime's safety. Optimus nodded, and the group quickly set around to preparing. They replenished their ammo with whatever energon they could find, which wasn't much, and then got a quick medical check from Ratchet. He gave each and every one of them the all-clear, then turned to the human children and looked at them before saying, "Absolutely not."

Miko groaned. "Oh come on!" she complained, but Ratchet just crossed his arm and glared down at her, tapping his pede impatiently. Miko eventually sighed and turned away, then stormed off grumbling something about how she always missed out. Jack, Raf and Alice sighed, then shrugged at Ratchet before they walked after their human friend, who was now sitting on the (somehow) intact couch that was in the base and still grumbling. This caused Ratchet to sigh as he turned to the Ground Bridge control mechanism and checked to see if it was still functional.

Before they could do anything else, however, a proximity sensor alarm started to go off, and everyone immediately turned to it and looked only to find that there was no helicopter on top of the base. This caused Optimus and Ratchet to share a confused, wary look; the proximity sensor usually only went off when Agent Fowler had landed on top of the base.

"Ratchet, I—Whoa!" Bulkhead exclaimed as the already-ruined base suddenly shook violently, and a loud noise – one that sounded like an atomic bomb had just been dropped on top of the base – reverberated throughout the air. Alice, Miko, Jack and Raf all screamed as Bumblebee put his hands protectively over them. Optimus stumbled and leaned against the wall for support, while Ratchet clung to the Ground Bridge control mechanism. When the shaking finally stopped, Optimus asked if everyone was well, and once everyone had confirmed their status, Optimus walked over to the lift and shook his head.

"I will see what that was," he said, and everyone nodded. "Remain here, and await my command," he said before stepping onto the lift and heading up to the top of the abandoned missile silo. When he got to the top, his optics widened as he saw the _Nemesis_ floating mere metres away, and upon seeing the new armament to the vessel – a large cannon – he knew that Vesper had relented… and it was quite possible that her spark was being used to power the weapon.

Optimus snarled then, and the plan that he and the others had thought up immediately left his mind. All he wanted to do now was get on board and kill everyone who had dared to wrong him. That was including Megatron and Starscream, and every other Decepticon on board. And that was precisely what he did. He took a running jump and managed to get on board, then started to sneak around.

While he was walking through the hallways of the _Nemesis_, Optimus heard a pained scream reverberate through the ship, and he stiffened before realising that the scream had come from somewhere close by. He immediately broke into a run and desperately tried to find the room where the scream had come from, and soon enough he found it. His optics widened in horror as he stepped into the dark room and observed the femme hanging in the very centre. Energon was dripping from in between her legs, and she appeared to be very despondent. Whoever had been with her moments ago was no longer present, and for that Optimus was grateful.

He reached out and gently stroked Vesper's face, but recoiled in horror as she flinched and started to struggle away. "N-No!" she hissed, her optics snapping open and wilding glancing around. "D-Don't to-touch m-m-me!" she begged, struggling even more as Optimus watched, absolutely bewildered and scared. "I g-ga-gave you th-the parts of th-the wea-weapon, so pl-please…" Her voice broke off as she started to sob, her struggles ceasing, and Optimus felt a large pain in his spark.

"Vesper," he breathed, his voice saturated with sadness, "I am so, so sorry…" He reached out again, but this time refrained from touching her. "Please, forgive me… I could not protect you…"

"Oh, how touching," Optimus heard a voice say, and the Prime whipped around to see Starscream standing at the door, his arms crossed over his chassis. "It's a pity, really." The Seeker's vibrant red optics bored into the Prime's turquoise ones. "She is mine now."

This caused Optimus to stiffen. "Excuse… me?" he asked, his voice stony and strained as he realised what Starscream had been implying.

"Oh, I do not need to repeat myself," Starscream mused, his voice sickly sweet. "But I will, just for you. Vesper is no longer yours." He grinned maliciously. "Her body belongs to me now." Optimus' servos clenched into fists, and he found himself struggling to contain his pure rage, as Starscream continued his mocking. "Of course, she's a little bit unwilling, but she will come to accept me," he said, his malicious smile growing. That was not the only thing growing, however. Optimus' rage was like fire within his veins, and it was starting to become uncontainable. "And she will soon be—" The Seeker was cut off as Optimus roared, his faceplate sliding over his mouth as he jumped forward and slammed his fist into Starscream's face, sending the 'Con flying backwards into a nearby wall.

But that wasn't the end of it. Optimus was fighting a losing battle against himself; his calm, rational side was telling him to not do anything too rash… but the angry, wrathful side of him would not listen.

And it was the angry, wrathful side that won.

Optimus screamed in anger and pain as his blue optics began to change colour. They flickered between blue and red, but like Optimus' angry side, the red won out, and Optimus looked slowly up at a terrified Starscream. Then, slowly, he put one pede forwards as the Seeker tried to scramble backwards, but it was no use. Optimus' blazing eyes were completely focused on Starscream, and there was nothing that the Seeker could say to stop Optimus from injuring him severely.

"You," Optimus breathed, his voice coming in ragged, venomous growls, "Have wronged me one too many times." He stepped forward slowly before stopping in front of Starscream. Then, even as the Seeker begged for mercy, Optimus roared and kicked him the head. He knelt down, picked Starscream up by the head, and started to slam him into the wall. Each time he heard a howl of pain, Optimus felt a dark thrill course through him. A maniacal smile appeared on Optimus' face, although it could not be seen because of the Prime's faceplate, and he found himself laughing as he held Starscream – who was now only whimpering feebly – in the air triumphantly.

"P-Pl-Please… no more…," Starscream gurgled, and the rage in Optimus' spark spiked again. His eyes narrowed before he threw the Seeker to the floor and started to slam his pede down on the Seeker's chest, causing Starscream to scream pathetically and wheeze. "I…," Starscream choked, his spark beating feebly, "Beg… you… for… mercy…"

Optimus' eyes narrowed as he knelt down next to Starscream and pressed a servo to his throat. "Is that what she said when you forced yourself upon her?" he breathed, his voice low, dark, and malicious. "Is that what she said when you repeatedly tortured her?" His eyes were blazing with dark fury at this point, and Starscream was beginning to feel quite panicked and horrified. Never in the Seeker's life had he imagined that Optimus Prime would have this much anger and wrath within his body.

Optimus' current condition reminded Starscream painfully of Megatron.

Suddenly Optimus picked Starscream up by the head. "You cannot answer me, can you?" he hissed, his freakily red eyes regarding Starscream with a dark curiosity. "Or do you simply hold your glossa because you do not want to die?" The way Optimus said the word 'die' made Starscream's energon run cold, and it was then that he realised that he had been doomed the moment he'd started mocking the Prime.

"P-Pl-Please… mercy…," Starscream choked, and again a fresh wave of rage washed over Optimus.

"YOU BEG ME FOR MERCY?!" he roared, slamming the Seeker against the wall once, twice, thrice over. "YOU HAVE THE AUDACITY TO BEG ME FOR MERCY?!" he roared again, pressing Starscream's head against the wall using all of his strength. Starscream squealed feebly in pain and horror as he realised that Optimus was crushing his head. "I WILL NOT GIVE YOU MERCY! YOU DO NOT DESERVE IT!" the Prime roared as he pulled Starscream away from the wall and slammed him into the ground. There was a sickening crack, and Starscream cried out as he went limp, although he still lived.

Optimus gently put his large pede on the Decepticon's head. There was crystal-clear intent in the Prime's eyes, and a malicious smile underneath his faceplate. Starscream struggled weakly, but there was no point. As he felt pressure start to build up in his head, Starscream realised that this was the end for him… and he was right.

The Seeker released a strangled scream as Optimus' pede crushed his head, and then silence fell as the cry died away. Optimus was panting as his faceplate slid off of his face, trying desperately to fight his anger off, and this time he won. He closed his optics – still as red as Megatron's – and released a sigh before he opened them again. They had returned to their turquoise blue, and he looked down at the offline Seeker that was underfoot with his upper lip curled up in disgust. Then he turned back to Vesper, and his anger immediately melted away and was replaced with tenderness and misery.

"Vesper," he breathed as he strode over. He reached out again and touched her shoulder, only for her to flinch away and quiver in fear yet again. This caused Optimus' servo to fall to his side as he began to sob. "I have failed you… Please, please forgive me… Please…" He bowed his head, but this caused him to not see that Vesper had finally dragged herself back into consciousness and was regarding the one that she truly loved with a despondent, soft look.

"Only… if you… forgive me," she gasped, and Optimus stiffened before he slowly raised his head and looked into her eyes. His optics widened as he slowly reached a servo up and gently cupped her cheek, and she smiled at him, her smile forced and sad. "I… have failed… humanity… I have… failed the others… and I have… failed… you…," she sobbed, closing her eyes and casting her eyes downwards.

Optimus reached his other servo up and cupped her other cheek. "Look at me," he breathed, his eyes scanning every detail of her face. She slowly looked up, and Optimus smiled sadly. "I do not care if you have failed. We still have a chance to stop Megatron's plan."

Vesper felt regret course through her body. "No, Optimus," she breathed, averting her eyes yet again. "_You_ still have a chance. I… do not." She jerked her head from his servos and refused to look back at him. "Please… leave me. You deserve better."

Optimus frowned, hurt. He did not understand. "Vesper, I—"

It was something hitting him in the lower abdomen – Vesper's pede – that cut him off and caused him to stumble backwards. He looked up at her in shock, and then noticed the miserable, regretful look on the femme's face. "I… do not expect you to understand, Optimus," she said, her voice strained. "Please, forget about me. I—"

The Prime suddenly cut her off as he hastily strode forward and wrapped his arms around her. She noticed that his body was heaving, and it dawned on her that he was crying.

"Please, Vesper, please do not push me away," Optimus sobbed, and Vesper's glossa felt unmovable in her mouth. "I need you, Vesper, more than I will ever know." He slowly stepped away from the femme, still crying, and held her at arm's length. "Please… tell me why you do not want to face me," he breathed, reaching up and cupping Vesper's face, stroking her cheek lightly with his thumb.

Vesper was about to shake her head, but something in her spark told her that Optimus was the only one she could tell. She sighed, then said, "I… was once not an Autobot." She squeezed her eyes shut, expecting Optimus to become angry, but nothing happened. She tentatively opened them and cautiously looked over to see a sad twinkle in the Autobot leader's optics. "You… are not angry?" she breathed, frowning.

Optimus shook his head. "You would never truly be a Decepticon… I could not be angry at you," he said, gently touching her forehead with his own. Vesper smiled, relieved, but also feeling guilty. She decided to tell him everything, and she poured her spark out.

"When I was first initiated into the Decepticon ranks, my mentor told me that the Autobots were evil. I believed him, for a time, until I watched Megatron coldly murder an innocent bot. I had never seen an Autobot commit such an atrocity, and it was then that I knew the truth," Vesper whispered, turning her head away, which caused Optimus' servos to fall to his side. "In an attempt to redeem myself, I killed my mentor and stole the condensable parts of the weapon. I headed for Alpha Trion, hoping that he would understand, and he did. He made me an Autobot, took the weapons from me, sent them away, told me their coordinates." She looked into Optimus' optics, and was astounded by how much love and care were in them. "But then, I was captured and tortured. I… was raped many times back then, and I felt disgusted. I felt horrible, impure, and when I finally managed to escape again…" She shook her head. "I wanted to destroy myself. It was many years before I was found again, and I was put into stasis."

Optimus nodded. "And you had been in stasis until we found you."

Vesper nodded in agreement. "Yes," she breathed. Then she looked up. "We… have spent enough time talking," she suddenly whispered, and Optimus frowned before nodding. He looked up at the chains before transforming his servos into blades and cutting her down. She collapsed to the ground, then weakly tried to stand, but she found herself unable to without support.

Optimus knelt down and gently picked her up, then the two of them slowly walked out. However, the moment they stepped outside of the room, they were assaulted by Vehicons shooting in their direction. Optimus immediately pushed his femme behind him and returned fire, killing most of the Vehicons instantly. Then, when they were all offline, Optimus picked Vesper up and ran down the corridors of the _Nemesis_, hoping desperately that he did not run into Megatron.

Megatron, however, was hoping that he would run into Optimus. Standing over the mangled, sparkless corpse of Starscream, Megatron was thinking of all the horrible ways that he could kill Optimus. He turned on his heel, gave Knockout the order to clean up 'the mess' as he gestured at Starscream's body, then walked out of the room and looked down the hallway, his optics narrowing.

"Soundwave," he hissed, and the silent Decepticon – standing nearby, keeping an optic and audio receptor on everything – walked over, awaiting his lord's orders. Megatron turned to look at his most trusted minion. "I want all Vehicons to search for Optimus Prime."

Soundwave nodded before broadcasting the order to each and every Vehicon, directly using their frequencies. It was in this way that he ensured that Optimus and Vesper did not hear the order, and were at a disadvantage because of it.

Or they would have been, if they had not gotten up to the cannon before the order had been given. Optimus, after making sure that Vesper had been safely hidden away, had killed every single Vehicon that was guarding the cannon, and they'd never even seen him coming before retrieving his femme and bringing her over to the weapon she had ultimately helped to create. Now, he and the femme were standing near the control panel of the cannon, looking with both curiosity and hurt at the spark that was being used to power it.

Optimus frowned. "I wonder who was used to power it…," he said softly, looking over at Vesper, who had turned her head away. Then he shook his head. "But that does not matter now." He walked over and gently put his servo on Vesper's shoulder. "Do what you need to."

The femme nodded before walking over to the control panel, but just as she was about to punch something in, Megatron grabbed her around the throat and threw her away. She cried out as she slammed into the wall and fell limply to the floor, unconscious. Optimus' eyes widened as he looked back at her, then at Megatron. The Decepticon warlord was baring his sharp dentas at the Prime, and the two stood off against each other. Blue optics met with red optics as Autobot faced Decepticon.

"So, Optimus Prime," Megatron scowled, his tone of voice indicating that he was, in no way, pleased with the Prime putting a dent in his plan. "I should have finished you off at that canyon."

Optimus snorted. "Yet, you did not. I shall not hesitate, however," he hissed, clenching his servos before transforming them into his blades. Megatron immediately revealed his blade as well, and the two leapt at each other and their blades met with a clang. Sparks flew as the two fought against each other, but soon enough both of them jumped back before repeating what they'd just done.

They repeated this many times before Optimus fell to his knees, exhausted. Megatron, however, seemed just as strong as the moment they'd started to fight, and realising this made the Decepticon maliciously gleeful. He stepped forward and slammed his pede into the 'Bot's side, which sent him flying and caused him to land directly in front of the weapon.

Vesper groaned as she finally managed to drag herself back from unconsciousness, and she looked up just as Optimus landed directly in front of the barrel of the cannon. The Prime was struggling to get to his feet, and he did not notice when Megatron walked over to the control panel of the weapon and typed in the code that would fire the weapon.

"NO!" Vesper screamed, causing Optimus to look up, just as the cannon powered up and sent a powerful, almost pure white laser in the Prime's direction. "OPTIMUS, MOVE!" she cried, even though she knew in her spark that he was completely unable to. His turquoise optics widened as the beam filled his vision, and the last thing Vesper heard from Optimus was an agonised scream as the beam struck him.


	13. Chapter 12

"OPTIMUS!" Vesper screamed as the beam of light disappeared, sucking the energy it had absorbed from the Prime back into the weapon's power source. Vesper immediately knew that the cannon had sucked Optimus' very spark out his chest, and now the Prime was little more than a husk. And, from the grin on Megatron's face, the Decepticon warlord knew it too. He started to laugh victoriously, and Vesper found herself gazing at Optimus' lifeless face. His optics were dark, completely unseeing, and the femme heard a shrill noise, almost like someone screaming. She soon realised that it was _her_ screaming, and she scrambled over to Optimus and gathered his head in her arms. "Optimus!" she sobbed, trying to awaken him, but she knew that it was no point.

"You try so desperately to wake him, yet you must know that there is no point," Megatron said, striding over and picking the femme up by the throat. She struggled against him as he walked over to the edge of the warship and held her over. She peered down and her optics widened; she could see that the drop was one that could potentially kill her. And, looking back at Megatron and noticing that he had on his face a smile that revealed his sharp dentas, she realised that he could see the same thing. "And now, I will dispose of yet another problem."

He then threw Vesper off of the edge, and she screamed as she fell at an alarming rate. She tumbled and twisted as she flew through the air, and the ground came rushing closer and closer. The femme squeezed her optics shut just as she slammed into the rock and dirt, and she cried out as her impact caused a small crater. Then she groaned and sat up, rubbing her back before looking up. She noticed something else flying down towards her, and her eyes widened before she screamed and scrambled out of the way just as Optimus crashed to the ground.

"Vesper! Optimus!" Ratchet suddenly yelled, and the femme looked up to see the medic and the rest of Team Prime running towards them from the destroyed base. The medic looked panicked as he knelt down next to the unmoving Prime, and after making sure that Vesper was well, he immediately set to work on Optimus, but the scarlet femme knew that there was little to no point attempting to save the Prime. "I… His spark is out!" Ratchet suddenly cried, and everyone looked at him in horror, save for Vesper, who simply looked down at the ground in sadness. "I can't save him!" It was clear that Ratchet was frantic as he tried to reignite the Prime's extinguished spark. The other Autobots and the humans all stepped back, giving Ratchet some space to try and aid Optimus unhindered. "His spark is completely gone… Optimus Prime is nothing but a husk!" he cried, despair clear on his face as he continued to try.

Alice shook her head, tears running down her face. She was disbelieving of the fact that Optimus Prime – the Autobot leader, the strongest among them – was dead. She ran over to Ratchet and beat her fists on his leg, causing him to look down at her and grimace sadly. "You have to do something!" the white haired girl screamed as Ratchet knelt down. "If not for us," she said, pointing at the now-sobbing Vesper, "Then for her! Please!"

Ratchet shook his head sadly as he turned back to the unmoving Prime. "I can only do one more thing for Optimus now," he said, after a few moments of miserable silence.

Arcee glared at the medic, her optics filled with grief. "And what, by the Allspark, would that be?" she questioned, her voice shaky and tearful. Bumblebee and Bulkhead shared a look, as they too had wanted to know what Ratchet had been planning, but they simply hadn't known how to ask.

Ratchet looked away, prompting Jack to frowned and walk over so that he was standing next to Alice. "Ratchet," he said, his voice quiet, "Can you… actually save Optimus?"

Ratchet nodded slowly, although he was reluctant to explain his plan. "I… have one last thing I can try. But…" He trailed off and looked sadly down at Alice, only to receive a grimly knowing look from the girl. "It… would require me to give my spark to Optimus… a spark transplant," he stated, looking away as the others gave him horrified looks. "It would revive him, but… I would end up in the very same state that Optimus is currently in."

"No…," Miko whimpered, tears welling up in her eyes.

"You… You can't!" Arcee yelled, her optics widening. She did not want Ratchet to go through with his plan. A small part of her spark knew that there had to be another way, but the rest of her was disbelieving.

"You have to do what's right," Alice suddenly murmured, and everyone looked down at her as she averted her eyes and looked at the dirt underneath her feet. Ratchet could tell, just by looking at her, that the human femme was in a lot of pain, hearing what Ratchet would have to do in order to revive the Autobot leader. But he also could tell that she was right, and that he had to revive Optimus no matter what. The Autobots were lost without their leader, and they could simply train another bot to take Ratchet's place.

"But what you are planning to do is not the right thing to do," Vesper suddenly said, drawing everyone's attention to her. Ratchet raised an eyebrow as the femme stepped forward and shook her head, then crossed her arms over her chassis. "There is another way, one that I have not informed you of." She turned away and looked back up at the _Nemesis_, which was still floating close to their base. Then she looked back at the rest of Team Prime. "The weapon has two modes. The first mode is one that can cause an explosion, somewhat resembling a nuclear explosion, without the after-effect. The second mode sucks all of the energy – or, if it hits a Cybertronian, their spark – out of their body, and the weapon utilises it as a power source."

"What are you trying to say?" Ratchet asked, frowning.

Vesper sighed. "The power source can be removed from the weapon and, if we bring it back to Optimus, we can use it to return his spark. In simpler terms," the femme said, looking over at Optimus' lifeless husk, "The power source contains his spark. Bring it to him, and he shall return to us."

Everyone's eyes widened. "You… You mean…" Alice trailed off as she thought of the implications. "You can revive Optimus Prime?!" she exclaimed, excited about the very though. Vesper turned to the human girl and nodded.

"Yes. However…" The Autobot femme looked back up at the _Nemesis_, then sighed. "I will be returning to the warship."

"How?" Ratchet asked, his voice a worried scowl.

Vesper sighed. "I will find a way. But," she said, shaking her head, "I also ask you all to remain behind."

"No way!" Alice suddenly exclaimed, and everyone gave her curious looks. "I'm not letting you go back up to that place alone!" She ran over and stood in front of Vesper, placing her hands on her hips and glaring up at the femme. "If you're going, then you're taking me with you!"

Vesper's cyan optics widened, then she shook her head. "Absolutely not!" she exclaimed, kneeling down so that she was close to eye level with the white haired human girl. "Your idea is absurd and will only end in your demise!"

"I agree with Vesper, Alice," Ratchet said, looking down at his human charge. Bumblebee chirped something, and everyone looked over at him. Bulkhead and Arcee were shaking their heads, disagreeing with whatever Bumblebee had just said, which was something that Alice, Jack and Miko could not understand. However, Raf was giving his guardian a wide-eyed look, then he looked at Ratchet just as the medic said, "Bumblebee is right. But we cannot risk a human life."

"What did he say?" Alice asked, confused.

Vesper shook her head. "He said that you, as you are so willing, should accompany me. You could prove to be helpful in destroying the weapon and reviving Optimus Prime." She looked down at Alice. "But I do not agree with this, Bumblebee," she said, her voice disapproving.

"I do!" Alice exclaimed, stomping her foot impatiently. "Look, Vesper, I can help you!" she exclaimed, then looked over at Optimus. "It's imperative that you get that power source, right? Well, I can serve as a distraction for you!"

Vesper bit her lip. "I could not place you in danger like that."

"You're not," Alice argued, poking herself in the chest. "I'm placing myself in danger for Optimus' sake!"

This effectively silenced all arguments, and each Autobot looked at each other, while Jack, Raf and Miko all looked at the determined Alice. Then Vesper sighed and, with nods from the others, turned to Alice and accepted her proposal. Alice nodded with a determined smile on her face, then climbed up onto Vesper's shoulder and nodded at her. The femme hesitantly nodded in response and walked into the base. Then she used the lift to get on top of the abandoned missile silo, and soon found herself looking at the _Nemesis_, her optics full of fear for her human companion, but Alice assured Vesper that she would be alright.

"Ready?" Vesper asked as she prepared to run and jump, and Alice nodded before clinging hold of the femme's neck for dear life. Vesper sucked in air before running forwards, and just as she reached the edge of the cliff she propelled herself into the air. She caught a part of the warship that jutted out and hung dangerously above nothing for a few seconds before swinging herself onto a ledge and climbing up to the very top of the vessel.

She jumped up and immediately laid optics on the weapon, but she could also see Megatron standing near it. She gritted her dentas, then felt Alice jump off of her shoulder. "Alice, what are you doing?" the Autobot femme whispered, her optics widening as Alice looked up at her, grinned, and gave her a thumbs-up.

"I'll distract him," Alice whispered, looking over at the Decepticon warlord as she spoke. Then she looked back at Vesper and said, "You have to get that power source, no matter what!"

The femme nodded. "Very well… but I warn you not to do this!" she hissed as Alice ran out from where the two members of Team Prime were hiding and ran directly in front of Megatron, successfully gaining his attention.

"Hey, bucket-head!" Alice said, waving her arms at the 'Con. Immediately Megatron's eyes narrowed and he scowled at the young human as she stuck her tongue out at him. "Come and get me, you stupid tailpipe!" She turned and ran, and Megatron – not liking the fact that he'd just been insulted by a human – roared before giving chase. Once they were gone, Vesper ran out and over to the weapon, which was currently offline. She quickly typed in the access code and immediately started to type the release code for the energy source, and was relieved when it detached. She collected it, then started to type in another code only to hear an angry roar, which caused her to stiffen and look over at the door. She gasped as she saw Megatron standing there, then took a few steps backwards.

"I thought," Megatron hissed, his optics narrowing as he looked at Vesper and the part of the weapon in her servos, "That you surely would have been put offline by your fall."

Vesper's cyan optics narrowed as she quickly moved back over to the control panel for the weapon and held her hand above the confirmation button. "If you come any closer, I will detonate the weapon."

Megatron started to laugh. "How so, Vesper?" he said, emphasising the femme's name. "You have the energy source in your hands!"

Vesper smiled. "I do not need the energy source to detonate the weapon. It has an explosive – highly potent – in the base." Her eyes narrowed. "It was put in there as a… precaution."

Megatron's eyes narrowed. "A precaution?" he asked, his tone indicating that he was absolutely unamused.

Vesper nodded. "Against… situations like this. I am sure you are aware, Megatron, that this weapon was supposed to be used to protect Cybertron." She grimaced at the warlord. "The explosive was placed inside of its base, in case the weapon was used for another purpose, such as being used to destroy a race."

"Why did—" Megatron started, but he was cut off when something slammed into his head, and he whipped around to find Alice standing there with a crowbar. A chunk of metal – the thing that Alice had obviously thrown – clattered to the ground, but it had served its purpose. Megatron's attention was now fully on Alice, and the human girl smiled as she taunted the Decepticon.

"Come and get me, bucket-head!" she teased, then gestured with two fingers for him to come and get her. Megatron snarled before running towards the human girl, but as he reached for her she slammed the crowbar into his face, causing him to howl in pain and stumble backwards. This allowed Alice to look over at Vesper and yell, "Go! You have what you need, now go!"

Vesper shook her head as Megatron recovered and leapt yet again at the human girl, who repeated her earlier attack. "I will not leave you to die!" the Autobot femme yelled, taking a step forward.

Alice looked over as she dodged a swipe from Megatron's servo. "If you don't go now, Optimus won't ever have another chance at life!" she yelled, and Vesper realised that the human girl was right. "Leave me! I'll be fine!" Then Alice shook her head. "But don't forget to activate the detonation sequence on the weapon!"

"NO!" Vesper cried, her optics widening as she realised what Alice was asking of her. "I can't leave you! You will most certainly perish!"

Megatron suddenly managed to wrap his servo around Alice, but fortunately for her, the hand that was holding the crowbar was still free, and she managed to slam it into the warlord's head. This caused Megatron to drop her, and she yelled, "If you don't go now, then you will have failed Optimus, and the weapon will remain in Megatron's hand… even if it is incomplete!"

Vesper, realising that the human girl was right yet again, looked away. Then she looked back at Alice as the girl dodged Megatron's grasp yet again, and a small, miserable smile appeared on her face. "Very well, Alice. I pray to Primus himself that you survive," she breathed, then she turned on her heel and tapped the confirmation button. The console immediately displayed a timer, and Vesper looked over at Alice once more before turning away and running over to the edge of the battleship.

"JUMP!" Alice screamed as Vesper hesitated, just as the human girl was grabbed by Megatron. Vesper didn't see what happened next, for she jumped off of the ship. She plummeted to the ground, landing on her feet this time, although she did collapse to the ground, stunned by the landing.

"Vesper!" Ratchet said, his voice filled with relief as he ran over and helped the femme up. Then he realised that she was alone, and he frowned as she stumbled over to Optimus, with his support. "Where is Alice?" he asked as she fell to her knees beside the Prime and yanked open his chest, exposing his spark chamber to the others.

"Alice…," Vesper breathed, looking back up at the _Nemesis_, "Is not afraid to die."

"She's still up there?!" Bulkhead exclaimed as Vesper looked at the energy source in her hand.

"Yes," she confirmed. "And she understands… that she may not survive what is soon to happen." She held the energy source above Optimus' spark chamber, then sighed deeply before plunging it into his chest.

Optimus' body convulsed before his optics flickered on. The Prime immediately started to cough, his body shuddering, and Vesper immediately placed her servo on his chest as Team Prime all waited for Optimus to finally relax and stop coughing. When he did, he immediately looked up into Vesper's eyes, and a weak smile appeared on his face as a servo reached up and gently touched the femme's face.

"You… are well…," he breathed. Then he looked over at the others as his servo fell back to his side. "As… are the rest of you… except…" He looked around slowly, weakened and confused, searching for Alice. "Where… is Alice…?"

On the very top of the warship, Megatron was watching in amusement as Alice desperately tried to struggle her way out of the warlord's grip. After a few more minutes, the girl slumped, gasping for air. Then she looked up at Megatron and snarled. "I am not afraid of you!" she hissed, struggling again. "You want a piece of me?!" she growled, and Megatron laughed before dropping her to the ground. However, just as Alice got to her feet, Megatron wrapped his servo around the girl's torso and picked her up, using his fingers to grip the arm that happened to be free.

"No, I do not want _a_ piece of you," Megatron hissed, his voice low. "I want two!" And, with that, he pulled on the girl's left arm. A scream escaped her lips and reverberated throughout the air as she felt her arm being pulled from her shoulder socket. She felt the muscles, tendons and ligaments tearing, and she felt the blood vessels popping. Then, with a sickening sound, she felt the skin tear just as Megatron pulled her arm from her body. Blood squirted onto Megatron's chest, and he scowled in disgust as he threw the agonised Alice to the ground. She slammed into the steel of the ship and immediately whimpered as she curled into foetal position and clutched at her shoulder, which was absolutely pulsing blood.

Then the Decepticon warlord snarled and kicked the girl into a nearby wall, causing her to scream as she slumped to the ground. She looked up and tried to stand, but Megatron slammed her into the wall again using his pede. Then he picked her up and slammed her against the wall with his servo, holding her there and causing her to start crying.

"If this is to explode," he said, gesturing back at the weapon, "Then you will die!" He grinned gleefully at this revelation, but it did not stop a smile from appearing on her face.

"I will make sure, then, that you don't survive the explosion either!" she declared, and then they both looked over at the weapon as the monitor started to beep spastically. Both of them immediately knew that the timer was up, and they both shared a look before the device exploded. Alice screamed as flames engulfed her and Megatron, and the Decepticon roared as he dropped the human girl. However, she did not hit the ship; the force of the explosion flung her off the ship, and she screamed as she flew through the air.

On the ground, Ratchet was keeping a close eye on the Decepticon vessel when he noticed the explosion. The _Nemesis_ immediately started to depart from the Autobot base, but that wasn't his concern. The medic's attention was completely on the screaming human that was flying through the air, and he started running towards where he believed she would land. His determination was spot on, and he managed to catch her.

"Alice!" he exclaimed, noticing the blood that was spilling from her arm. She weakly smiled up at her guardian, then collapsed as she floated into unconsciousness. "Alice? Alice!" Ratchet screamed before realising that it was fruitless to try and wake her.

"Ratchet, is—oh…," Miko said as she, Jack and Raf ran over, and Ratchet turned slowly around and miserably, revealing the near-dead Alice to everyone, including the Autobots. Optimus could barely move, but he could still see Alice from where he was lying, and his lips pressed into a hard, thin line as he miserably regarded the bleeding stump that had once connected her arm to her body.

"She… she needs…," Ratchet said, then choked up and found himself unable to continue.

Arcee finished his sentence for him. "She needs medical attention." She turned to Jack. "Call your mother."

The human boy nodded before pulling his phone out and quickly dialling an all-too-familiar number, then pressed the phone to his ear as it started to ring. Soon enough he had organised for his mother to get to the ruined Autobot base as quickly as possible, and Ratchet slowly walked inside, although he did look back at the weakened Prime once before disappearing.

Optimus instructed the rest of Team Prime to head inside, and they all obeyed except for Vesper, who refused to leave his side. He did not want her to, however. Instead, he looked up at her and weakly smiled. "Can you… please help me… to my feet?" he asked, his voice very faint.

Vesper frowned. "Are you sure that you should be attempting that yet? You are weakened!" she exclaimed, but the Prime shook his head.

"It… is not safe for us to remain here," he gasped as he, with great effort, managed to sit up. Vesper frowned but did not force him back down; instead, she placed a servo on his back and supported him as he struggled. "We… must go… inside."

Vesper sighed as she nodded. "Very well," she murmured, before standing and holding out both of her servos to Optimus. He took them in his own, and Vesper attempted to pull him to his pedes as gently as she could. He successfully managed to get to his feet, and then Vesper put her hands on his back as he put his arm around her shoulder and started to struggle over to the base's entrance.

When they both finally got inside, the two Autobots noticed that Ratchet seemed to be absent. June was kneeling over Alice, her expression one of horror and determination, and occasionally she spoke to Jack and took a medical tool from his hand. Bumblebee, Arcee, Bulkhead, Raf and Miko were all standing a respectful distance back, and they simply looked up as femme and Prime walked into the base and over to them.

"How is Alice faring?" Vesper asked, sadly looking over at the white haired human that June was desperately trying to save. She regarded the nurse with some curiosity – having never met her – but was respectful enough to not inquire. That, and she believed that it was her fault that Alice was currently suffering… and that she had a very low chance of survival.

"I have no choice but to take Alice to the hospital!" June eventually exclaimed, and not a word more was spoken as Jack helped his mum get the white haired human girl into June's car before the nurse hurried off as fast as she could, and everyone prayed that Alice would make it.

If not for their own sakes, then for the sake of their sparkbroken medic.


	14. Chapter 13

Vesper sighed as she typed a few coordinates into the Ground Bridge control's monitor and then pulled the lever down, turning to watch as Bumblebee, Bulkhead, Arcee and Optimus headed through and disappeared into the swirling green vortex before she closed it. Then her servo fell to her side as she walked over to a nearby monitor and started to type away on it, doing calibrations and tests on the various systems the Autobots were using in the base.

It had been a month since the cannon's destruction, yet nobody had seen Ratchet leave his room once during that time. And it was expected that he would shut himself away, Optimus had said many a time. After all, Ratchet was attached to Alice and didn't want to lose her. The human girl had suffered greatly, losing a limb and almost dying, and now her fate was uncertain. All the Autobots had been told that Alice was in a coma, and there was a large chance that she would not wake.

During that month, the Autobots had rebuilt their base and had managed to salvage almost everything, but there were a few things that had been irreplaceable, such as a number of Ratchet's invaluable medical tools that he'd brought to Earth with him when he'd departed Cybertron. Optimus had mentioned this, but Vesper had said that there had nothing that could possibly be done, and everyone had seen the truth of her words… even if none of them liked it. Now they were just making do without their medic or his tools, which was sometimes hard, especially since Decepticon forces were still hanging around and attacking them whenever possible.

Vesper turned around then and squealed in shock as she noticed Ratchet standing at the door, silently observing what she was doing. "Ah, um, Doctor!" she nervously stuttered, scratching the back of her head. "You, uh, startled me." She looked away, back at the calibrations she was doing, before looking back up at the silent medic and asking, "Is there something I can help you with?"

"I'll keep an eye on the Ground Bridge," he stated, his voice neutral and devoid of any emotion whatsoever. "You go and pick the kids up from school."

Vesper frowned and was about to disagree, but something made her stop. This was the first time in an entire Earth month that Ratchet had emerged from his room, and while she was happy for that, he was absolutely not ready to leave the base. Not in the sparkbroken condition he was in, anyway. So she nodded and transformed into car mode before leaving the base through what she referred to as the front door, and headed towards Jasper as fast as she was allowed. This was the third time this week that she'd had to do this, but she was getting used to it, and her conversations with the children about their school day never failed to amuse and interest her.

When she pulled up, she noticed that Jack was talking to someone that she didn't quite like, and she projected her human holoform so that it didn't look like the idling car had driven itself. Miko and Raf were standing nearby, watching silently with cautious looks on their faces. It was Miko who first noticed Vesper idling nearby, and she hastily directed Raf over before opening the door and getting in. Raf followed her example, and then both humans looked over at their fellow. "What is going on?" Vesper asked them quietly, glancing back at them using her rear-view mirror.

Miko shrugged as Jack turned away from whoever he was talking to and got into the passenger seat in the front before slamming the door and clipping his seatbelt on. Then he crossed his arms and remained dead silent as Vesper pulled away from the curb and headed back towards the Autobot base. She didn't want to ask what was wrong, fearing that Jack would be snappy, but she also wanted to see if she could somehow help.

When she pulled into the base, she noticed that the others had returned, but Ratchet hadn't taken to hiding again. Instead, he was silently tapping away on one of the many computers, and the others were simply leaving him be, having conversations with each other and only speaking to him when they deemed it necessary for him to know something. When this occurred, the medic simply nodded before returning back to his work, and as Vesper let the kids out and transformed back into her primary mode, Optimus sighed and walked over to her.

"A word, please?" he asked her, and the femme frowned before nodding and following Optimus down the hallway. When the Prime deemed them both of our earshot from the others, he turned to Vesper and asked, "Has Ratchet spoken to you at all?"

Vesper frowned and bit her lip before nodding. "All he said was that he would manage the Ground Bridge so I could collect the children," she informed the Prime, and he sighed. He was clearly bothered by Ratchet's behaviour, and Vesper put her servo in his suddenly. "Optimus, he is going through a very tough time right now," she said, smiling sadly up at the Prime. "He is very attached to Alice. Please just allow him some more time."

Optimus shook his head. "Ratchet may never recover. You know that," he breathed, squeezing her hand gently. Then he looked sadly at the ground and squeezed his optics shut. "It all depends on whether Alice wakes… or even lives…"

Vesper suddenly wrapped her arms around Optimus' torso, pulling her servo from his as she did so. "Alice will live!" she whispered. "I am sure of it! And if there is belief in her, then she has the chance that she needs!"

Optimus wrapped his arms around his femme and nodded. "Yes, of course," he breathed, a small sliver of hope clear in his voice. A small smile appeared on his face, and he looked tenderly down at his sparkmate. "We can only pray to Primus that she wakes soon."

It was these words that Optimus spoke, and while the white haired human girl could not hear him, she still woke up, almost as if she _had_ heard. Her eyes blearily opened and she slowly looked around, noticing that she was in a completely white, sterile room. It smelled strongly of anti-septic, and Alice groaned as she felt dull throbs of pain spread through her upper torso, starting from her shoulder. She tried to move her arms, then stiffened as she felt that something was wrong. Her eyes were wide as she slowly looked at her right arm and noted that it was still there – which was quite relieving – but her relief dissolved when she looked over at her left arm and noticed that there was nothing to look at.

A scream escaped from her lips as she abruptly sat up, ignoring the pain that shot through her body, and tried to touch the limb that was no longer there. Then she frantically looked up just as June hurried in, and screamed, "WHERE'S MY ARM?!"

June waved her hands at the girl, in an effort to calm her down, and said, "Alice, calm down. It's alright," as she placed one of her hands on the girl's right shoulder. "It's alright. I can explain."

Alice shivered, tears running down her face, as June explained that her arm had been torn off by Megatron, and the white haired girl noticed that June was keeping her voice very low. The nurse also explained that Alice had lost an incredible amount of blood, had been torn up and burned, but seemed to have healed quickly. June mentioned that she was shocked to see Alice awake already – nobody had expected her to wake up for at least another six months – which caused the girl to smile.

"I'm a resilient person," she managed to say before she sighed and looked at her non-existent left arm. "I just… I just can't believe it," she murmured, reaching up and touching her shoulder. "I can't believe it's gone."

June sighed. "Neither can any of Team Prime," she breathed, and Alice stiffened as her thoughts immediately went to Ratchet. She groaned as she realised that he had to be beating himself up, cursing himself for being useless. "They're all worried about you, Ratchet especially so. The last time I checked on them, Ratchet hadn't been out of his room for weeks."

Alice stiffened. "Is he alright?" she breathed, her eyes wide.

June shrugged. "I'm sorry, but I don't know. The last time I saw them was three days ago." She sighed and squeezed Alice's shoulder. "Now, I have to go home – it's getting late – but I'll be back tomorrow. You," she said, releasing the girl's shoulder as she stood and walked over to the door, "Get some rest. You'll need it, especially if you want to see the gang again." The nurse smiled softly before walking out of the room, leaving Alice alone.

The girl sighed as she gently laid herself back down on the pillow, and then she closed her eyes. Tears still dripped down her cheeks, but she made no move to wipe them away. Instead, she let her thoughts take over. She wondered if Vesper had managed to revive Optimus. She wondered what had happened to Megatron. She wondered if Ratchet was emotionally sound. She wondered how everyone was. And she wondered if the Decepticons had finally decided to call it quits with the destruction of the weapon.

Of course, her last thought was soon answered… and the answer was no. An explosion suddenly wracked the hospital, and Alice screamed as she covered her head. Then she slowly looked up to see a gaping hole in the wall of her room, rubble crumbling to the floor, and a large, purple, thin organism silently stepping through it. Her eyes widened as the Decepticon stepped towards her, and she screamed as Soundwave's long, thin fingers wrapped around her and plucked her from where she was laying. Then he held her up in front of his visor, silently glaring at her as she struggled to get out of the 'Con's grip.

"Let… me… go!" she cried, but Soundwave didn't respond… at least, not verbally. He turned on his heels and started to walk out of the hospital, his servo – still holding Alice – fell to his side, and a Ground Bridge opened up in front of him. "Stop!" Alice cried as the Decepticon stepped closer and closer to the swirling vortex that didn't belong to the Autobots… but then he _did_ stop. For a few minutes, Alice thought that he'd actually listened, but as the two of them looked up she began to believe that that was not the case.

Floating in the sky was a large ship that she'd never seen before, and there was a weapon pointed right at the silent Decepticon. He turned to face this new threat, and Laserbeak detached from his chest before flying up… and consequently plummeting back to the ground as he was shot down. Soundwave, reacting to this, immediately dropped Alice to the ground (consequently making her cry out in pain) before using his tentacles to gather Laserbeak and reattach the Mini-Con back to his chest. Then he transformed into his altmode and flew into the Ground Bridge, which closed as the ship landed.

Alice shakily stood as a lift emerged from the bottom of the landed vessel, and she noticed that there was someone standing there. At first she believed that the figure was Optimus, but upon closer inspection she noticed that it wasn't.

The figure walked over to her and looked down, and the first things she noticed were the shoulder pads. But it was the completely emotionless optics that made her flinch away and avert her own eyes. Instead, she took in the bot's features. He was sporting a very similar colour scheme to Optimus', and had an almost identical build. The only differences, really, were the slightly different tones and the optics.

"Are you alright?" the Optimus-esque bot suddenly said, and Alice squeaked as she jumped a little. She'd not expected the bot to actually speak to her. However, she did manage a nod, and the bot nodded in response before turning away. As he did so, however, Alice caught a glimpse of his chest and noticed the Autobot symbol.

Her eyes widened. "You're an Autobot?" she blurted out just as the figure took a few steps away, and he stopped before slowly turning back around to face her. She clapped her hand over her mouth as his optics narrowed, and then he curtly nodded.

"Yes, I am," he said, then he frowned. "I was not aware any of native lifeforms knew about us."

Alice scratched the back of her head. "Well, truth is… I'm one of the few who do." Then she shook her head. "What's your name, anyway?"

The Autobot didn't seem to be too happy about Alice's question. "Ultra Magnus. But you are to address me as 'sir'," he said, his voice stiff. Alice was about to speak, but something about the bot's tone shut her up. It was obvious that he was a very military-minded, 'by the book' kind of guy, and she didn't quite like that. However, she knew that she had no choice but to roll with it, especially because he was an Autobot… and a much-needed ally.

"Well, sir," Alice said, "I'm pretty sure the others would be glad to know that you're here. They could use allies of the Cybertronian kind." Ultra Magnus nodded in agreement, then turned again and walked towards his ship without another word. This caused Alice to frown and run after the bot before saying, "You don't even know where they are!" as she realised that he was going to go search for them. Then she yelled, "And you most certainly can't use that thing to get around!" as she pointed at the ship, just as Ultra Magnus turned to face her again.

"Why not?" he asked, puzzled.

Alice shook her head. "The other members of Team Prime have this 'robots in disguise' thing going on. Flying around in that," she explained, pointing at the vessel Ultra Magnus had arrived in, "Is going to blow their cover."

Ultra Magnus frowned, but then shook his head. "I must take this to a better place, then," he said. "If it is… odd to see such a thing, as you say, then it will be more noticeable here." He walked back over to the ship's lift, but didn't go up immediately. Instead he looked down at Alice, waiting for her to follow, and when the human girl realised that she hurried over and clambered up, finding it incredibly difficult to do with only one arm but managing all the same. Ultra Magnus, if he noticed this, said nothing as the lift rose, and soon enough the two found themselves inside of the Autobot's vessel.

"Woah!" Alice exclaimed as she looked around. Ultra Magnus said nothing to her as he walked over and sat down in a chair that was located in front of a control panel. Then he started typing away before the ship started to rumble, and Alice cried out as she fell on her behind. The ship lifted into the air as she regained her footing, and she gasped in amazement as she ran over to the front of the ship and looked out of the ship's windshield. Then she looked back up at Ultra Magnus as he directed the ship to a remote location. "This is awesome!"

He said nothing as he looked down at her, then looked back up and continued to fly. This caused the girl to huff and, forgetting that she was missing a limb, she tried to cross her arms, only to frown sadly when she remembered. This prompted a reaction from the stony Autobot, who said, "What happened to your arm?" She looked up at him to see that he was giving her a sideways glance, his optics still neutral, although she saw something flash in them briefly.

The human girl looked sadly at the stump. "It… was torn off."

This caused Ultra Magnus to actually turn to face her. "By whom?" he asked, before turning back and directing the ship to land.

Alice sighed as she reached up and gently brushed the stump with her fingertips, wincing as small jolts of dull pain shot through her torso. "Megatron," was all she said, and Ultra Magnus nodded as the vessel finally landed. The Autobot stood then and walked over to the lift, and Alice sighed before she too walked over to the lift, and it lowered so that they were outside the confines of the ship. Ultra Magnus stepped off of the lift and looked around at the empty area, and Alice jumped off and walked over to the 'Bot.

Suddenly she became aware that they were surrounded by rocky walls, and she frowned as she noticed that Ultra Magnus' attention seemed to be on something that was standing on one of the ledges. The sun was glaring off of it, so the human girl couldn't exactly tell what it was other than the figure was Cybertronian.

As Alice watched, the figure jumped down from the rock face and landed heavily on the ground. Without the sun glaring off of metal plating, Alice could now see familiar olive green plating… and a familiar face. "Bulkhead!" she exclaimed happily, running over to the Autobot, who was just as happy to see the white haired human.

"Alice, you're okay!" he exclaimed, leaning down so that he got a closer look at her. He smiled, relief shining in his optics, but then he straightened up and looked directly at Ultra Magnus. "Ultra Magnus, sir," he said, his voice betraying the surprise that he was doing a good job of hiding. "What a surprise to see you here!"

"At ease, soldier," Ultra Magnus said, and Bulkhead relaxed a little bit. "It is good to see you are online and well," the warrior said, his tone neutral, not betraying any sort of emotion. Alice grimaced but said nothing as Bulkhead nodded.

"You too, sir," he said, his voice perfectly honest. If he disliked Ultra Magnus, he wasn't showing it. The olive green bot was just grateful that there was someone else on the Autobot side Team Prime could now rely on. "I'm sure Optimus would be happy to see you, as well," he said, and Alice wondered what he meant by that.

Ultra Magnus gave the former Wrecker a half-smile. "It is good to know that Commander Optimus is still online."

Alice's eyes widened. "Wait… commander?" she asked, looking between Bulkhead and Ultra Magnus. "Optimus was a commander?"

Ultra Magnus seemed offended by the girl's lack of knowledge as he looked down at her. "He is the leader of the Autobots. All of them," he said, keeping his voice completely serious and emotionless. Then he looked back up at Bulkhead and said, "Are you willing to escort us to him? I must give a report."

Bulkhead nodded, then transformed into his altmode and opened the door for Alice, who stepped inside, grateful that she didn't have to ride with the stuck-up Autobot who was new to Earth. When she mentioned this to the olive green Autobot, he chuckled and said, "Ultra Magnus is very… by the book." He would have shrugged, provided he wasn't in vehicular mode. "You'll get used to it."

Alice scoffed as Ultra Magnus transformed, although she was rendered speechless as she looked at the warrior's altmode, which was still Cybertronian in design. It wasn't exactly something you'd expect to see driving the highways, and Bulkhead sighed as both he and Alice realised that Ultra Magnus would have to find a better altmode if he was to blend in. However, at present time, there was nothing any of them could do, and they just decided to deal with it as the two Autobots drove off, Bulkhead leading.

When they finally got to the base, Alice saw June frantically talking to Jack, who was trying to comfort his mother, and the white haired girl immediately knew that the nurse was worried for her safety. As Bulkhead rolled to a stop, the girl stepped out, and June immediately ran over to her and checked her for injuries.

"Are you alright?" she asked, her eyes wide and scared.

Alice nodded and smiled softly. "I'm fine, June," she said. Then she gestured at Ultra Magnus, who had transformed and was looking at each of the gathered bots. "I was saved from Soundwave by Shoulder Pads over there."

Ultra Magnus, if he had heard the jab, was paying no mind. Instead, he was staring at Vesper, an angry look in his eyes. The femme shrunk back, alarmed, and realised that Ultra Magnus probably knew only that she had been in the Decepticon ranks. It was highly likely that he was not aware that she had defected.

"Ultra Magnus," Optimus said, distracting the warrior for the briefest of moments, which allowed Vesper to slip away and hide from his angry glare. "It is good to see you again, after all these eons."

Ultra Magnus nodded. "Likewise, sir," he said. Then he turned to the others, and a frown appeared on his face. "These… are the only ones with you?" he asked. His tone indicated that, for some reason, he seemed very unhappy, and Optimus wondered why. The Prime was smart enough, however, to not enquire.

Instead, he nodded. "Unfortunately, yes. These are the only members of Team Prime," he said. Ultra Magnus looked at each of them, his eyes taking in every single detail. Some of them he recognised – Ratchet (who didn't seem to have noticed Alice), Bumblebee, Bulkhead, and Arcee – while some of them were strange to him – mainly the humans.

"It is good to have some more assistance on this planet," Ratchet suddenly said, turning around. He kept his eyes trained on the warrior, but he did notice his human companion out of the corner of his optics, and that was enough to distract him. "A-Alice?" he stuttered, his optics widening as the human girl smiled and waved at him.

"Hey Ratch," she said, grinning up at him as he knelt down. The other bots could see that Ratchet was on the verge of breaking down and crying, but they didn't know if he was happy or sad. Optimus, watching as Ratchet pulled Alice into a hug (as much as he could without absolutely squishing her), presumed that Ratchet was happy to know that his human charge was alright, even if she was… missing a part.

Letting the two have their reunion, Optimus turned back to Ultra Magnus, who still looked angry about something. When Optimus enquired, the warrior promptly responded with, "Why is there a Decepticon in your midst?"

This caused the Prime to stiffen as everyone – bot and human alike – turned to look at him, their jaws slack. He looked away, not sure what to say. Vesper had only informed him of her former allegiance to Megatron, and he'd refused to tell everybody else because he had deemed it a need-to-know piece of information only.

He had been under the belief that only himself and Vesper had known about her former allegiance, but now he had been informed that he was horribly wrong.

"She… is a Decepticon?!" Miko exclaimed, stomping her foot angrily.

Optimus shook his head, which made everyone glare at him. Arcee hissed, "Is your judgement clouded, Optimus?"

"No," he said firmly, anger blooming in his spark. "She is not a Decepticon!"

Ultra Magnus crossed his arms over his chassis. "Are you saying that because—"

It was actually Ratchet who came to the Prime's rescue. "Alright, that's enough of that," he chastised, and everyone slowly looked away from Optimus and turned their attention to the doctor. "How about we ask Vesper about this?" he suggested, shaking his head. "She will be able to shed light on this."

Optimus was about to disagree, but then he heard, "Then ask me what you will." They all turned to look at the femme, who was standing at the door with a sad, frightened look on her face. "But know this now: I am no Decepticon."

Ultra Magnus scowled. "How do we know that?" he asked.

Jack shrugged. "If she was a Decepticon, she wouldn't have brought Optimus back from the dead."

This effectively silenced everyone, and Arcee, Bulkhead and Bumblebee shared a look, having momentarily forgotten that small fact. Miko and Raf hung their heads, having also forgotten, and Ratchet looked at Jack with gratitude clear in his optics. Alice just smiled in relief; she knew that Vesper would have pulled through, and the femme had definitely proved the human girl right.

"I… I owe you an apology, then," Ultra Magnus eventually managed to force himself to say, and Vesper smiled lightly before walking nervously over.

"I forgive you," she said, then turned on her heel and walked back over to one of the nearby monitors and clicked something. "Now, I have something to report."

Everyone turned to her, confused, as she pulled up an image of a map. It was a map of the area surrounding the crashed Decepticon cargo vessel that Vesper had been a prisoner on, as most of the group – save for Ultra Magnus, June and Alice – realised. But there was also a signal there, one that Arcee recognised all too well.

The two-wheeler's optics narrowed, and she hissed something under her breath. Bumblebee, standing quite close to her, heard what she said and his optics widened as he looked at her, shocked. Then he beeped something, and Arcee glared at him.

"What is it, Bee?" Raf asked, placing his hand on the scout's leg. "What do you mean?"

Optimus' mouth set into a thin, hard line as he turned back at looked back at the signal on the monitor. "Arcee, you are _not_ to leave the base. Understood?" He looked back at the femme, whose servos had clenched into fists.

"No. I don't understand," the femme hissed… and then she transformed and departed from the base, leaving Optimus to sigh and shake his head in disappointment. Then he turned to everyone else and crossed his arms.

"Ratchet," he said, his voice strained, "Prepare a Ground Bridge. We may need it."


	15. Chapter 14

Team Prime never needed the Ground Bridge… at least, not for the purpose that Optimus had been thinking they would need it for. When Arcee called them and told them to come to her location, the confused bots and humans did so with all haste. They soon discovered that Arcee had only just reached the location herself, and the signal that she'd been chasing had disappeared from the area.

"I don't understand," Ratchet mused as he walked over and looked at the destroyed vessel. "There's nothing here, so why would there be a signal?" He turned to the others, specifically looking at Vesper and Optimus. "Perhaps it was a bug in the system?"

The scarlet femme shook her head slowly. "I highly doubt that such a specific signal – especially one of Decepticon origin – would simply be 'a bug in the system'." She crossed her arms over her chassis, tapping her chin with her index finger. "There was someone here… but they appear to have been chased away."

Ultra Magnus looked sceptically at the femme, his optics flashing dangerously. "Or this could have been a ploy," he growled, and Vesper flinched as their optics met.

Optimus grew angry as the others started to whisper among themselves, casting cautious looks in Vesper's direction as the femme sadly looked away and back at the vessel she'd once been a prisoner on. Then she noticed something, and without telling the others – who were now involved in an argument – she hurried over and walked over to the askew door. Then, with a quick look back, she hurried into the ship and started to walk around inside. There were still deceased Decepticons lying around, and she stepped over them as she investigated. She'd never actually seen the inside of the vessel – having been in stasis for a long time – but she still investigated, even though she was quite aware that getting lost was likely.

She soon found a large, gaping hole in the ship's hull, and her optics widened as she walked over and gave it a closer look. It was sitting just above one of the wings of the ship, and she frowned as she clambered out, then stood up. She could see the others arguing… and she watched as Optimus turned to see her standing on it. His optics widened, and then he yelled, "Get down from there before you hurt yourself!" This caused everyone else to look at her, and all of their eyes widened as well.

Vesper shook her head. "I will not hurt myself," she called, her voice still light and cheerful. Then she climbed back into the hole in the ship's hull and continued her investigation, not realising that Optimus hadn't believed her in the slightest. Telling the others to stay put, the Prime hurried into the ship, then quickly tracked Vesper down. She had found her way to where the stasis pods were, and she was running her fingers over the jagged edges of where one pod had formerly been.

"Vesper?" Optimus asked as the femme's servo fell to her side and she slowly turned to look at him.

"They… do not trust me, do they?" she asked, her optics glancing in the direction of the others, who were still standing outside the confines of the ship. "I suppose that their distrust is warranted." She sighed before looking down at the floor. "I… should have informed you all prior to—"

"Their distrust is not warranted," Optimus growled, losing his self-control for the briefest of moments. Then he sighed and slowly shook his head. "What matters now is that you are no longer on their side." He walked over and placed his hand on her shoulder. "And that I trust you." He gently gripped her chin and tilted her head upwards so that their optics met. He smiled tenderly at her before leaning down and gently planting a kiss on her lips. Vesper gasped a little, a shiver running down her spine as their lips touched, but then she frowned and bit her lip as the Prime pulled away. "Do not worry. You always have my support," he breathed, pulling her into a hug and stroking the back of her head as she snuggled closer, grateful that she had him to rely upon.

Suddenly something clanged to the ground, and the two jumped apart and immediately became tense, their optics glancing frantically around. They heard nothing else, but that didn't stop Optimus from grabbing Vesper's servo in his own and squeezing it gently. The femme was starting to become panicked, he could feel it, and he tried to send her soothing thoughts as he formed his free servo into a blaster.

The two remained completely still for a while, then they heard the noise again. Optimus immediately became even tenser, and his faceplate slid over his mouth. Vesper whimpered as she shuffled closer to the Prime and hid behind him, her free hand resting on the small of his back. Then the noise came again, and the Prime's eyes narrowed before he heard footsteps. Both the Prime's and the femme's eyes widened, and Optimus whipped around… just to see a familiar face step through the door.

"Wheeljack!" Optimus' optics widened as he looked down at Vesper, who was grinning like a mad woman. The bot looked at her, his eyes narrowed, then he grinned equally as madly when he recognised her.

"Vesper!" he said, putting his dual swords away and crossing his arms over his chassis. "When'd you get to Earth?" he asked. Optimus, confused, looked between the two, not understanding how a Wrecker and a data analyst knew each other… and appeared to be good friends.

Vesper shrugged. "A while back, I guess," she said, walking over to Wheeljack after looking up at Optimus with a reassuring look. "What brings you to this planet?" she asked, poking the Wrecker in the arm.

He shrugged. "I was tracking this ship down. It's been a while since I've been here," he admitted, looking over at Optimus and nodding. The Prime nodded in return. "And it's good to see that Optimus is still alive and kicking." He grinned before looking back at Vesper.

The femme nodded. "You have been to this planet before, then?" she asked, and Wheeljack nodded.

"Must admit though, it was worth coming back now," he said, winking at the femme. Normally she would have blushed and shrugged it off, but this time she stiffened. Wheeljack noticed this and was about to ask if something was wrong, but when a shiver went up his backstrut, the Wrecker stiffened before both he and Vesper looked at Optimus. The Prime's servos were tightly clenched and a snarl was very clear on his face. His optics flickered from blue to red occasionally, and Wheeljack took a few steps back and raised his hands. "Hey, I meant no harm by it!" he said, his own optics widening as Optimus stormed over, grabbed Wheeljack's shoulder, and threw him into a nearby wall.

"I do not care," Optimus scowled, walking over and grabbing Wheeljack around the throat before pressing him against the wall. "I will _not_ tolerate your advances towards her!"

Vesper ran over and grabbed Optimus' arm. "Optimus, please, stop hurting him!" she cried, and Optimus looked down at her before exhaling and releasing Wheeljack, who slumped to the ground and coughed. Vesper immediately sighed and looked over at the Wrecker, who looked quite stunned.

And he wasn't the only stunned one. The other members of Team Prime – Bulkhead and Miko included – were gaping at Optimus, and if he noticed them he paid the looks no mind. Instead, he turned on his heel and angrily stalked away, and Vesper gave Wheeljack an apologetic look before hurrying after him.

"By the Allspark…," Ratchet breathed, looking after Vesper and Optimus before looking over at Wheeljack. "I've never seen him like that…"

Wheeljack got to his feet, leaning on the wall of the ship in order to support himself. "Isn't he supposed to be calm and collected or something?" the Wrecker asked, looking over at Bulkhead. "I thought that was part of being a Prime." Everyone shrugged, then silently looked in the direction where Optimus had gone as they heard an angry roar and then metal hitting metal.

Vesper frowned as Optimus punched the wall, and he sighed heavily as he felt one of his knuckles break. He looked down at it as it began to spark, and then back at Vesper. "I… I was out of line," he eventually said, breathing heavily. His optics – no longer flickering between red and blue – looked sadly into Vesper's. "I am sorry."

The femme shook her head. "It is I who should apologise," she said, walking over and wrapping her arms around Optimus' torso, resting her head on his chassis. "He has always been like that. I usually go along with it, for we both know that nothing will come of it."

The Prime sighed as he returned the femme's hug. The two of them silently stood like that for a while, then Optimus sighed again before saying, "I should go and apologise to Wheeljack."

Vesper nodded. "As should I. We are both at fault here," she mused, then tried to step away from Optimus, although she found that the Prime would not release her. She looked up to notice that he was gazing at her, entranced, and she smiled. "Optimus, you need to release me," she said, her voice soft.

Optimus slowly shook his head. "I… do not want to," he admitted, a soft blush creeping to his cheeks.

Vesper blushed as well, then rested her head against Optimus' chassis again. "This is nice, I will admit," she said. "Just being in your arms makes me feel safe."

Optimus stroked her back gently with the tips of his fingers, making her shiver. Then he chuckled as he said, "Look up at my face." She did as she was asked just as Optimus leaned down and kissed her again, and she returned the kiss for a little bit before finally pulling away, breathless. Then she leaned back up and kissed him forcefully, stunning the Prime, but he quickly returned it with just as much force and hunger. He slipped his glossa into her mouth, using his servos to press her body closer to his, and a thrill went through his backstrut as he heard her moan softly.

When the two of them finally managed to pull away from each other, they both separated their bodies and walked a short distance away from each other. Both of them were panting, shocked at themselves. "Um, whoa," Vesper gasped, looking back at Optimus, who was leaning against the wall with his optics squeezed shut. He was clearly fighting for self-control, and Vesper frowned. She dared not approach, however. Instead, she said, "I will leave you be, and check on the others," before turning on her heel, not waiting to see the Prime's reaction.

The others had not heard what Optimus and Vesper had just done, so they were simply having a chat. Ultra Magnus and Wheeljack appeared to be giving each other venomous looks, and Vesper wondered why as she approached. Ratchet was talking lightly to Alice, and every so often the two of them looked at the remainder of her left arm. Jack, Raf and Miko were all chatting to their respective guardians, with Bulkhead extending the conversation between himself and Miko to Wheeljack, who was more than happy to converse and ignore Ultra Magnus, who didn't appear to be very interesting in the chatter of the others anyway. So it was only the Autobot lieutenant who noticed the quiet femme standing nearby. He was silent as she came closer.

So, when she cleared her throat, everyone but Ultra Magnus jumped and whipped around to face her. "Vesper!" Ratchet chastised immediately. "Don't scare us like that!"

"It was not my intention, Doctor," she said, her voice calm. "I am sorry." Then she shook her head. "Wheeljack, you were hurt because I failed to inform you of… events." She sighed as she walked over to him and placed her servo on his shoulder. "I am sorry for that."

Wheeljack grinned. "It's all good, Vesp," he said. Then he looked in Optimus' direction. "Although I really didn't expect that." He rubbed his throat and grimaced.

Vesper sighed. "To be honest, I did not expect it either," she admitted. Then she shook her head. "But enough about that. I want to ask you a question, Wheeljack, one that I feel I must have an answer to."

Wheeljack frowned, but nodded anyway. "Sure. What's your question?"

Vesper gestured around her. "Why are you here? At this location in particular?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chassis.

Wheeljack shook his head. "I shot this down about two months back, but I didn't find it until now." He shook his head as Vesper's optics widened. "It was carrying something that had an Autobot locator on it. Of course, whatever it was carrying was taken, but the locator remained." He held a small device up and wiggled it around. "I picked it up earlier."

Vesper nodded. "I see," she said. "Well, Wheeljack, you will be pleased to know that the Decepticon cargo was never actually handed over to Megatron."

Wheeljack grinned. "Well, that's good to know. Then you guys must know where the cargo is, right? Do you have it in your possession or something?"

This caused Bulkhead to chuckle. "It's not something one can have in their possession, Jackie," he said, and the Wrecker stood to face his old friend. Bulkhead then gestured at Vesper and said, "She was the cargo."

The Wrecker turned, shocked. "What?" he breathed, and Vesper nodded. Their conversation was cut short, however, when Optimus finally decided to show his face again. He had an expression of serene calmness on his face, and he looked at everyone with calm optics.

"I believe that we should return to base," he said, his voice just as calm as his eyes. Vesper, however, could see that Optimus was slightly unstable, but she did not push it. Instead, she nodded and looked over at Ratchet, as did the Prime. "Do you have the remote control to the bridge?"

The medic, having been given it when he and Alice had met up with the others, nodded as he pressed the button. A swirling green vortex opened up and the group headed in, although Optimus refrained for a bit when he heard something that sounded like metallic heels clicking on the floor. Then his optics widened as he turned.

"What—" he started to say, but then something sticky clapped over his mouth and silenced him. He immediately tried to get it off of his face just as he heard the tapping noise again, and he looked up to see purple eyes and a nasty, smiling, female face in front of him.

"Well, well, if it isn't Optimus Prime," the femme purred as she tapped her way over. She wasn't using her main legs; instead, she was using the eight 'legs' she had on her back. "What a prize…," she mused, stroking his cheek gently only for him to jerk his head away and glare at her. Before the Decepticon femme could do anything – or say anything – more, she got thrown off of the Prime by a very angry blue two-wheeler.

Optimus sat up and watched as Arcee attacked the other femme, but he also watched as the other femme snarled and threw Arcee into the wall. He stood as Arcee did, then tried to yank the web off of his mouth as Arcee continued her assault on the other femme.

"Go!" Arcee ordered as she looked back at Optimus, using her blades to keep the female Decepticon at bay. "I'll be fine!" she exclaimed, turning her attention back to the Decepticon.

Optimus, realising that he could say nothing to convince her otherwise, gave a muffled sigh before turning on his heel and running into the Ground Bridge. He soon found himself before the others, and the four humans immediately suppressed a giggle as they looked at the sticky substance covering Optimus' face.

"What the heck is that?" Alice chuckled, walking over and standing next to Ratchet, putting her remaining hand on her hip.

Jack shrugged as she looked over at him. Then he frowned as he remembered that he'd seen the substance before, surrounding his mother when she'd been captured by MECH… who, at the time, had been working with—

"Airachnid…," he breathed, and Raf and Miko turned to look at him.

"Who?" Miko asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"A Decepticon who killed Arcee's former partner, Tailgate," Bulkhead explained as Bumblebee beeped something unintelligible. He shook his head. "Arcee really has a vengeance against her."

"We have to go back," Ultra Magnus said, his voice blunt. "She could—"

"There isn't much we can do," Wheeljack stated, his voice just as blunt as he coldly regarded the warrior. "But hopefully, Airachnid is still weak."

"What do you mean?" Vesper asked, and Wheeljack smiled as he pulled out one of his katanas… and revealed that it was dripping with energon.

Back at the Decepticon cargo vessel, Airachnid and Arcee were battling it out. Currently the Autobot was at a disadvantage, but she could see energon dripping from a large wound in Airachnid's side. She knew that she had to somehow implement this weakness in order to take down the Decepticon, her mortal enemy, but she just didn't know how to do that. She soon discovered that Airachnid's movements were becoming sloppy and predictable, and that allowed Arcee to get an excellent blow on the Decepticon, chopping off at least three of her 'legs'.

The 'Con hissed in agony as she was forced to utilise her real legs, and she glared at Arcee with a look of absolute hatred. "I will kill you just like I killed Tailgate!" she screamed as she leapt at Arcee, but before she could, Arcee kicked the 'Con in the head and knocked her out. She stood over her mortal enemy and pointed her blaster at Airachnid's head, but something grabbed her arm then, and she looked back to see Ratchet standing there, shaking his head slowly.

"There is no point," he said, his voice neutral. "Just come back to base."

"But I must do this for—"

Ratchet's stony glare silenced the femme. "Optimus' orders."

Arcee was about to disagree and argue, but then she sighed, realising that there was no point. Instead she glared icily at Airachnid before stepping into the swirling green vortex that Ratchet had emerged from. Ratchet followed her, and the Ground Bridge closed, leaving Airachnid laying on the floor, unconscious and leaking energon.


	16. Chapter 15

Optimus had his arms crossed over his chassis as Arcee sat in front of him, her expression stony and filled with anger. The others were all standing around, frowns on their faces. Vesper was standing behind Optimus. Ratchet was standing near his medical table with Alice sitting on his shoulder. Bumblebee and Raf were standing near Ratchet. Bulkhead, Miko and Wheeljack were all standing near the Ground Bridge. Jack was standing near Arcee, although he wasn't saying anything to her; he was on the phone to his mother – who had departed before the others had gone to Arcee's location – about something. Ultra Magnus was standing beside Optimus, and was just keeping a watchful eye on the two-wheeler sitting before him.

"You allowed your judgement to be clouded," Optimus said, and Arcee looked up at him. His optics were disapproving, as was his tone, but Arcee could tell that he was only disappointed in her and not truly angry. "This is not the first time this has happened, either," he mused, tapping his fingers on his arm. "I cannot allow this to continue."

"Optimus, Airachnid is—" Arcee started, but was cut off when Optimus slowly shook his head.

"I know, Arcee. Airachnid is the one who extinguished Tailgate's spark," he said, his voice filled with understanding. "But, as Autobots, we do not kill unless we have no other option." He sighed as his arms dropped to his side.

Arcee shook her head. "I know, you don't need to tell me," she hissed, looking away, and Optimus frowned, not liking the tone underlying her words. And he had good reason to dislike her tone, for he felt as if it were – somehow – a personal stab at him. "But she's dangerous! She must be killed!"

Optimus shook his head. "Arcee, I am afraid that—"

"My judgement, Optimus, is not clouded," Arcee growled angrily as she stood, and Optimus flinched as the femme's eyes flashed. Ultra Magnus' face became even more wary, and the others stiffened. Each and every one of them waited for what Arcee was going to say or do next. And even if they didn't know what she was going to do, they all knew that it was going to be bad. "If anyone's judgement is clouded it's yours!" she suddenly exclaimed, pointing at the Prime, and Optimus felt the energon in his veins go cold. "You're soft and weak, Optimus! You believe that everyone can be redeemed, but some can't! Megatron, Soundwave, Airachnid!" she exclaimed, her eyes narrowing. "They're all examples of people who can't be redeemed for what they've done." Her voice was low as she spoke. "Yet you just can't seem to see that, and it's because of you that our problems keep going!"

"Arcee!" Ratchet claimed, shocked, as he stepped forward and grabbed Arcee's thin arm in his right servo. "That's enough!"

But the damage was done. Optimus looked down, his servos clenching into fists, before turning on his heel and storming away. Miko went to jump off of Bulkhead's shoulder and chase after the Prime, but the olive green vehicle stopped her and shook his head slowly. "Leave him alone," he advised, his voice soft.

Vesper bit her lip as she watched Optimus leave the main foyer of the base. She was tempted to go after him, but she knew that it was probably best to leave him alone. She turned to look at the others as Arcee yanked her arm out of Ratchet's grip. Vesper noticed that all the others – humans and bots alike – seemed stunned by Arcee's outburst. Ultra Magnus, however, was doing the best at hiding his surprise. Bumblebee was chirping and beeping softly to Raf, who was nodding in agreement. Alice was now whispering in Ratchet's audio receptor, and his optics were trained on the one armed human. Jack had shut his phone and was now silently standing near Arcee, and Wheeljack, Bulkhead and Miko were all having a quiet conversation. Not a single one of them were regarding Vesper, so she found it a simple matter to slip away quietly. She did not, however, pursue Optimus; she was too deep in thought.

What Arcee had said about some people being unable to be redeemed had made her feel hollow. As a former Decepticon herself, she had sought redemption, and had been given it by Alpha Trion. But now she was not so sure if his redemption had been enough… and if she was one of the few who could not be redeemed. She could hope to Primus that she was not, but her spark believed that – no matter how much she tried – she could not remove the Decepticon stain from her records.

As she walked past Optimus' door, she heard a soft sobbing, and she stopped dead in her tracks. She hated that noise, coming from Optimus, and she immediately changed her plan. Walking over to the door, she opened it to find Optimus sitting on the edge of his berth, his face buried in his servos and his shoulders being wracked by his sobs. The door closed behind her as she stepped into the room, but the Prime didn't look up, and it did not appear that he'd noticed Vesper's intrusion. He did, however, notice her presence when she sat down next to him and put her hand on his shoulder.

"Please do not cry," Vesper whimpered softly, her own spark beating painfully within her metallic breast. "I am sure that she did not mean it."

Optimus shook his head. Whatever calmness he'd possessed when he'd departed from the others was gone, and Vesper could see that the Prime was at his most vulnerable. "I… I… I feel as if Arcee was right," he sobbed, looking away from the femme that he loved. Vesper frowned before wrapping her arms around Optimus' torso, ducking underneath his arm. Optimus hesitated for a few seconds, then turned and hugged her tightly around the shoulders as he started to sob even more violently. The femme sighed, before reaching up with a servo and gently rubbing the Prime's back.

"Shh," she murmured. "It is alright." She sat there, letting the Prime cry, and just murmuring soothing things whenever he managed to choke something – doubts, thoughts, feelings, everything – out. There was very little she could actually say to calm him and make him feel better about himself, but she still tried as much as she could.

Optimus, after about three quarters of an hour, finally stopped crying, although it was clear that he was still very miserable. He and Vesper sat in silence, wrapped in the other's arms, drawing comfort from the fact that they were just sitting together. They had each other, and that was enough for them both.

Arcee, on the other hand, had isolated herself. Sitting on top of the base, she looked at the sunset and tried to make sense of what she had done. She cursed herself for lashing out at Optimus; he had only been trying to prevent her from doing something irrational. She also presumed that Optimus had not known about Airachnid's injury, and he knew full well how dangerous the Decepticon femme was when she was at full strength.

"Arcee?" a voice suddenly said, and Arcee looked behind her to see Jack striding over, although he stopped a few metres away to give the two-wheeler some space. "You okay?"

Arcee sighed and nodded. "Just… I guess I shouldn't have snapped at him like that," she said, her optics glancing at a nearby grave, her tone remorseful. "He's… He's got a lot on his mind… and much weighs on his spark." She shook her head. "I shouldn't have called him weak. In reality, he's the strongest of us all."

Jack sighed. "You… You were angry. I mean, you had the chance to take your revenge once and for all." He shook his head. "But Optimus didn't let you."

Arcee nodded. "And I call him weak for doing what he believes is right…," she mused, looking back at the setting sun. "I shouldn't have said what I did. Killing – for revenge and in cold blood – is not the Autobot way." Jack nodded, but said nothing as Arcee stood and walked back over to the lift. Jack followed her, and the two soon found themselves back in the base's main foyer. Wheeljack and Ultra Magnus were in the throes of an argument that Ratchet was trying to stop, but it wasn't working. Arcee cleared her throat then, and everyone looked over at her and Jack as she looked at Ultra Magnus and said, "I'm taking Jack home, sir," before transforming into her motorcycle form.

"Safe travels," was all Ultra Magnus said as Jack got on Arcee and drove off, leaving the other Autobots alone.

Bulkhead sighed before looking at Miko. "I guess I better take Miko home, too," he admitted, and Miko groaned before climbing down his shoulder and, as he transformed into an olive green armoured car, she got inside and he departed. Bumblebee beeped – his way of saying that he needed to take Raf home – and soon enough both he and his small human companion were gone as well. That left Ultra Magnus, Wheeljack, Ratchet and Alice in the main foyer, while Optimus and Vesper were sitting in Optimus' room.

"And what of you?" Ultra Magnus asked, turning to face Alice, who was beginning to nod off.

"I'm an adult, I don't need to go home if I don't want to," she yawned, then leaned against Ratchet's neck and was almost instantly snoring softly. Ratchet smiled lightly before plucking the white haired human from his shoulder and laying her gently on the medical table, pulling a small blanket from the nearby couch and laying it over her.

Then the medic turned to Wheeljack and Ultra Magnus and crossed his arms over his chassis. "I'll have to assign you rooms, then?" he asked.

Ultra Magnus shook his head. "I will go retrieve my ship, bring it here and hide it, then sleep there," he said, his voice steely. Ratchet was about to disagree, but he decided that it would be pointless to tell the warrior otherwise and nodded. Ultra Magnus then transformed into his altmode – still Cybertronian in design, which Ratchet knew would need fixing – and drove away.

Wheeljack had a similar idea, so Ratchet let him go too before turning his attention to Alice. Then he smiled tenderly at her before scooping her up and taking her to his room. He laid her down on the headrest of the berth before laying down himself and closing his optics, placing himself in recharge mode.

Vesper and Optimus were fast asleep. They'd lain down on Optimus' berth, and Vesper was snuggled to the Prime's chest while his arms were around her. Their faces were serene and calm, hiding the fact that a short time ago, Optimus had been an emotional wreck. Vesper had finally managed to get him to calm down completely, but he'd been drained afterwards and had begun to nod off. However, when she'd tried to leave – in order to go back to her own berth – the Prime had begged her to stay with him, and she had given him a tender smile and a quick kiss before laying down with him and placing her head on his chest. They'd fallen asleep minutes later, and weren't aware of the fact that the others had left to go do curb-side duty or had gone to sleep in a place other than the base.

It was a few hours before sunrise when Optimus opened his eyes and looked down at the femme sleeping peacefully against his chest. He smiled softly, deciding to stay still as to not interrupt her. Then he sighed as he recalled the events of the previous day, and he squeezed his optics shut, attempting to force himself to forget about them.

"Mmm…?" he heard Vesper mumble suddenly, and he slowly opened his turquoise optics to see Vesper's cyan ones regarding him drowsily. "Why are you awake… at this time?" the femme breathed, her optics closing as she drifted back off into sleep. Optimus chuckled quietly before gently leaning down and kissing Vesper's forehead. She stirred only to move closer to the Prime's body, her hands on his chassis.

A proximity sensor that abruptly blared startled everyone who was still in the base – Ratchet, Alice, Vesper and Optimus – awake, and Optimus sat up, removing his arms from around the femme who was keeping him company. Vesper sat up as well, a little slower than Optimus did, and the two stood – with Vesper stumbling a bit and Optimus catching her arm – before they walked out into the main foyer of the base. Ratchet and Alice joined the two a few minutes later just as Optimus declared that the proximity sensor was indeed indication Agent Fowler's presence, and Vesper whimpered.

"You've never met Agent Fowler, have you?" Ratchet questioned, and the femme shook her head.

"He… is a bit odd," Optimus said, smiling warmly at the femme, "But you will adjust." The small group turned as the lift door opened and the agent stepped out, regarding them all with his normal expression, which appeared to be slightly angry. His expression became a bit lighter when he saw Vesper, but he didn't really regard her. Instead, he informed the group of why he was here at such a ridiculous time: Decepticons had almost destroyed Uluru, an Australian landmark, in an attempt to get at a large energon deposit directly underneath it.

"That's bad," Ratchet mused, and Alice, still half-asleep, nodded in agreement. "But why would they make themselves known? They don't really regard human life, true," the doctor mused, gripping his chin, "But they do tend to keep hidden…" He shook his head and crossed his arms. "Not as well as we do, but still."

"They do not need the energon desperately, either," Vesper pointed out. "They have plenty of energon stored on their battleship. So it does not make sense on why they would openly try to destroy a well-known landmark."

Optimus frowned. "This merits investigation." He walked over to the Ground Bridge. "Ratchet, Alice, you two will stay here and monitor the Ground Bridge," he said, turning his head to look at them. Then he turned to Vesper. "Vesper, you shall be accompanying me." He was reluctant to say this – much preferring if the femme remained at the base for her own safety – but he knew that he would most likely need assistance, and with Alice's return, Optimus believed that Ratchet would like to have some alone time with her.

Vesper nodded, sensing Optimus' reluctance. "Very well," she said, stepping over to him as he opened the Ground Bridge for Uluru's coordinates. The bridge opened, and the two stepped inside, disappearing almost immediately. Agent Fowler decided to leave, satisfied that his task had been completed, which left Ratchet and Alice alone. Ratchet didn't say anything immediately to the girl, but after a while he sighed and looked at her.

"So," he said, his lack of people skills becoming obvious, "Are you adjusting well? Or are you finding it difficult?"

Alice smiled softly as she reached up and gently brushed the stump with her fingertips. "I'm… struggling, I guess." She sighed as tears welled up in her eyes, and she hastily wiped them away.

"It must be difficult, having to learn how to do everything again with only one arm," Ratchet said. Alice immediately smirked at him, and Ratchet became wary, wondering what sort of filth – he knew that she was going to say something dirty – was about to come out of her mouth.

"Trust me, I already know how to _some_ things with one arm," she said slyly before winking at Ratchet, which only served to gain the girl a roll of the optics.

"Alice, for now, you should focus on adjusting," Ratchet said simply, and the girl rolled her eyes before jumping off of her guardian's shoulder and putting her hand on her hip. But neither of them got to say anything more, because the alarms of the base began to sound, and upon some investigation, Ratchet realised with some horror that it was an emergency beacon.

From the coordinates that Optimus had put in moments before he and Vesper had left the base.


	17. Chapter 16

Optimus and Vesper walked out of the swirling green vortex and instantly were assaulted with hot, dry winds. They were standing in a vast expanse of orange sand, and in front of them was a giant rock that appeared to be perfectly whole… at least from the side that they had appeared on. They couldn't see that, on the other side, the national landmark had a gaping hole in it, and there were Decepticons everywhere.

Vesper shook her head. "This place… Are you sure it is the right one?" she asked, looking around. Optimus could only shrug, for he knew next to nothing about the national features of Earth. However, he did feel as if they were in the correct place, so he silently directed Vesper to follow him as he walked forward and hid behind the rock. Then they crept around Uluru until they peered around the corner and noticed the group of Vehicons… who were accompanied by a very specific Decepticon. A female, spider-like one.

Optimus' eyes narrowed. "Airachnid," he breathed, then looked down at his companion. Vesper's eyes were wide with disgust and horror, gazing upon the female 'Con. Then she looked up at Optimus, awaiting his next command. "Vesper, climb the rock," he whispered, and Vesper nodded before beginning her ascent. She wondered what Optimus was planning as he too began to climb, and the two soon found themselves on top of Uluru, looking down at the Decepticon forces.

The two watched as a Ground Bridge of Decepticon origin opened, and another Decepticon stepped out. This 'Con was recognised immediately by both Vesper and Optimus; it was the medic for the 'Cons, Knockout. Vesper despised Knockout, as did Optimus, and as she remembered all that he'd threatened to do to her – cutting off her limbs being the first thing she thought of – her servos clenched.

Both of them listened closely as Knockout informed Airachnid that she had been instructed to return to the _Nemesis_, and they watched as the femme snarled before disappearing into the still-opened Decepticon Ground Bridge. Then Knockout ordered the Vehicons to continue mining… before looking directly up at Optimus and Vesper. The two Autobots gasped and ducked, trying to hide, but it was too late. Knockout grinned sadistically before jumping up and facing them, and Optimus internally cursed himself for his carelessness.

"Well, well, if it isn't the Big O," Knockout drawled, his red optics flashing. Then he looked over at Vesper and grinned. "And if it isn't my former comrade!" he exclaimed, flashing his dentas at the girl, who glared venomously and took a hasty stepped backwards. "What brings you two here?" he asked, as if he was unaware of the reason that Autobots were here, although both Vesper and Optimus knew that he was _completely_ aware that they were investigating the Decepticon activity.

"Stop whatever you are doing immediately," Optimus growled, his faceplate sliding over his mouth and both of his servos turning into blasters, "Or I will be forced to stop you."

Knockout chuckled. "Really now?" he said, taking something out and pointing it at Optimus. It was a simple energon prod, and while it wouldn't harm anyone too much, it would definitely knock them out of commission for a while. Optimus didn't particularly want to get poked by it, but he knew that he needed to somehow stop Knockout.

Vesper, meanwhile, was unsure of what to do. Having very little combat training, the femme knew that she had no chance against even a Vehicon, let alone Knockout. She could hold her own against him for a short while, but in the long run she was scrapped. However, she knew that she absolutely _had_ to help Optimus, even if it cost her everything, including her spark.

Optimus suddenly leapt at Knockout, transforming his blasters into blades as he did so, and with a battle cry he slashed at the doctor. The 'Con dodged, but Optimus did manage to scratch his chassis, and the medic looked down at the scratch before furiously roaring and transforming his servo into his buzz-saw and leaping at the Prime, who jumped back and attempted to dodge as Knockout swiped at him… but that swipe was only a feint attack.

Knockout's other servo – which had the energon prod in it – suddenly jabbed at the Prime. Optimus didn't even see it coming, but Vesper did and desperately attempted to warn him. She was too late; Knockout slammed the prod into the Prime's stomach, and Optimus cried out as he was electrocuted. His body convulsed until the medic pulled the prod away, and then the Prime stumbled over to the edge of Uluru and teetered on the brink before falling.

"OPTIMUS!" Vesper cried as Optimus crashed and tumbled down the rock before hitting the ground and laying completely still. Then she turned to see Knockout grinning and stepping backwards into an open Ground Bridge. This angered her, and she turned to face him. "You are running away?" she hissed. Then her servo clenched. "You are such a coward!" she screamed as the Decepticon medic disappeared into the swirling green vortex before it closed.

Sighing, the Autobot femme turned to look back over the edge, then huffed as she slid down the rock and landed lightly on her pedes next to the now-semi-conscious Prime. She knelt down next to him and gently shook him.

"Optimus, you alright?" she asked.

Optimus lifted his head up a bit and looked at her. He opened his mouth to speak, but only a gurgle and a shrill, "Meep?" came out before his optics rolled back in his head and he groaned before he fell back into unconsciousness. Vesper sighed before she tried to patch her communications back to base, not seeing the Decepticon behind her, grinning like a madman. Knockout, standing behind her, suddenly jabbed her in the back of the neck with his energon prod, and she screamed as her body convulsed before dropping to the ground next to the Prime, her optics rolling back in her head.

She had, however, managed to patch communication to the base… in the form of an emergency beacon. Before Knockout could do anything to the downed Autobots, a Ground Bridge of Autobot origin opened, and Ratchet ran out, transforming his servos into his blades. He leapt at Knockout, who screamed girlishly before jumping out of the way. But Ratchet didn't stop his assault until the Decepticon doctor transformed into his altmode – a sports car – before driving away in an attempt to not get killed by the angered Autobot doctor.

When Knockout was finally gone, Ratchet turned and – transforming his blades back into usable servos – ran over to both Vesper and Optimus. He immediately checked their statuses, and frowned when he noticed that Optimus was quite banged up. He was, however, relieved to find that Vesper was relatively unharmed. He immediately commed Alice and asked her to open him a Ground Bridge, but then he remembered that she only had one arm – and would find the task almost impossible, given her small size and stature – and that he would have difficulties himself, for he had _two_ downed Autobots to carry.

"Oh for Primus' sake," Ratchet grumbled, then picked Optimus up as the Ground Bridge opened. He looked down at Vesper, biting his lip, before saying, "I'm praying to the Allspark that you're not discovered until I return." Then he turned back and ran into the Ground Bridge. He ran over to one of the medical tables and gently laid Optimus on it, then turned back and ran into the bridge. He breathed a heaving sigh of relief when he saw that Vesper was still lying where he'd left her, and he quickly collected her.

When he returned to base, he laid Vesper on the second of his medical tables, then walked over to one of the monitors and started to tap away on it. A whine from Alice made him remember that she had probably had difficulties even _opening _the Ground Bridge; _closing_ the bridge was going to be even worse… for while Alice could just climb on top of the mechanism to push it down and open it, but she couldn't do the same thing to close it. He chuckled as he walked over and pushed it up, then scooped the young human girl up and took her over to the two unconscious Autobots.

Alice walked over and gently placed her single hand on Vesper's side. Then she looked back at Ratchet and asked, "Are they going to be alright?"

Ratchet grimaced. "Vesper will be fine; she is unharmed." Then he turned to look at Optimus, and he sighed. "But Optimus… he is harmed. Not seriously, but…" The doctor crossed his arms. "It will take him a bit more time to recover."

Alice sighed as she removed her hand from Vesper's torso. Then she heard the sound of something coming, and both she and Ratchet turned as Arcee and Jack pulled into the base. Jack immediately stepped off of the female Autobot as she transformed, but as she opened her mouth to speak she noticed the two unconscious bots, and she sealed her lips as her optics widened.

Jack's eyes widened as well. "Wh-What happened to them?!"

Ratchet shook his head. "I don't know," he said. "But it is directly linked to their recent excursion."

"What excursion?" Arcee questioned, her voice somewhat harsh.

Ratchet sealed his lips, refusing to answer, but Alice exclaimed, "They went to Uluru to investigate Decepticon activity!"

Ratchet groaned as he facepalmed. "I was hoping that you wouldn't say anything," he grumbled.

Alice frowned. "Oh, whoops," she said. Then, at a look from Arcee, the girl gave a one-armed shrug and said, "Well, anyway, Agent Fowler told us about Decepticon activity at Uluru – a national monument of Australia – so Optimus and Vesper went to investigate."

"You should have summoned one of us," a voice said, and everyone turned to see Ultra Magnus and Wheeljack standing at the door. By the expression on Ultra Magnus' face, it was clearly him who had spoken. He stepped forward and shook his head. "We would have given our assistance."

Wheeljack nodded, then looked sadly over at the both of them. "I can't believe it." He clenched his servos. "They wouldn't be in this condition if I'd have been there!"

Ultra Magnus gave the Wrecker an unimpressed look, but said nothing as he walked over and stood over Optimus. "Will they make a swift recovery?" he asked. He clearly hadn't heard that part of the prior conversation.

Ratchet nodded. "They both should," he said. Then he turned yet again as Raf and Bumblebee pulled into the base, followed closely by Miko and Bulkhead. Those four were just as astounded to see the conditions of Vesper and Optimus, and Miko and Raf enquired as to what had happened, which Alice explained.

Suddenly they heard a groan, and everyone turned to see that Vesper had opened her optics and was struggling to sit up. Ratchet immediately strode over and helped the femme, then stepped back as she rubbed the back of her neck. "Ow," she said, cringing as her fingers ran over where she'd been stuck with the energon prod.

Arcee crossed her arms over her chest. "It's good to see you awake," she said, her voice neutral.

Vesper glanced at the other femme from the corner of her optics. "You do not need to say that if you do not believe it to be true, Arcee," she said simply, and the eyes of everyone else in the room – save for the unconscious Optimus – widened as Vesper slowly swung her legs over the side of the medical table and shakily stood.

"What'd you mean by that?" Bulkhead questioned, scratching the back of his head, and Vesper lightly smiled.

"I know that none of you trust me – at least, not entirely – anymore," she said, her cyan optics softly glowing as everyone flinched a bit and looked away. "And I do understand your reasons why." She stumbled as she walked around a bit, but otherwise stayed upright.

Ratchet grimaced. "We don't know where your alliances sit. You were once a Decepticon, after all," he said, casting a cautious look over Ultra Magnus, whose face was smooth and not betraying his emotions.

Vesper seemed to become very agitated by Ratchet's words. "I _was_ a Decepticon. I am not one anymore." She shook her head. "But, if you are so… uncertain," she said, turning away from the group and rubbing her upper left arm with her right servo, "Then I will take my leave."

Alice's eyes widened. "Hey, wait!" she exclaimed, and Vesper looked back at her with a slight inclination of the head. "You can't leave! You have nowhere to go!"

Vesper shook her head. "I will… find a place." With that, she transformed into her altmode and drove away, leaving everyone staring after her and frowning…

And they all wondered what Optimus would think when he finally woke.


	18. Chapter 17

Vesper sped down the road, heading away from the Autobot base. She drove with no real purpose or destination in mind. She just drove, trying to get away from the others.

She hated the fact that the stigma of being a former Decepticon was still hanging over her head, like a cumulonimbus, dark and dreary. She hated the fact that she was still being judged because of it, and she wanted it to be gone. But she knew that, in her spark, there was absolutely no way that she could erase the Decepticon stain from her ledger. It was like ink spilled on paper.

She finally pulled off the main road and down a derelict dirt road before stopping at an area surrounded by trees. Making sure that she was alone, she transformed, then leant against a tree and buried her head in her servos. A choking sob burst from her lips. She couldn't believe that, now that the Autobots knew about her former status as a member of the Decepticon army, they were distrustful of her. While she understood why – she understood that they were wary, wondering if she would betray them or if she was feeding the Decepticons information – she still couldn't believe it. She knew that they trusted her a bit – she had done a lot of stuff to aid the Autobots, including bringing their leader back from the dead – so that was a small blessing…

Suddenly she heard the sound of a tree branch snapping underfoot, and she looked up to see that she was no longer alone. Alice and Miko were standing before her, and she stood up as they approached. Her eyes became steely and cautious as she asked, "What are you two doing here? Are you not supposed to be with your Autobot guardians?"

Alice nodded. "Yeah, we're supposed to be. They're keeping their distance," she said, looking behind her. Vesper noticed Ratchet and Bulkhead about a couple of hundred metres away, and she frowned before looking down at the two humans. "Look, Vesper," Alice said, striding forward and putting her hand on her hip. "You need to come back."

The female Autobot shook her head. "I… I cannot." She looked over at her left shoulder, where her Autobot symbol shone in the light. Then she reached up and brushed it with her fingers. "I do not even believe that I am worthy of this symbol anymore." She sighed and looked down at the human girls. "Please go back to the Autobot base. You are wasting your words on me."

Miko scowled. "That's it?!" she demanded, stomping her foot and gritting her teeth. "You're not going to come back?! Not even for Optimus?!" she asked, which caused Vesper to stiffen and look away. Miko knew that she'd just used blackmail on the femme, but she didn't care. Both she and Alice knew that they had to get Vesper to return to the base somehow. Not only did _they_ want her to return, but both of them knew that the Autobot femme had absolutely no idea how to function on Earth. Even if, somehow, she did manage to remain hidden, she would still go wrong somehow and end up on a conspiracy theory website.

"No," Vesper said, finally turning away. "I would not return. Not even for Optimus Prime." Then she transformed into her vehicular mode and sped away, leaving Alice and Miko behind. She watched, using her mirrors, as they ran over to their respective guardian and gave chase of the femme, and she sighed in annoyance. She decided that it would be best to make sure that they weren't harmed, and that she would be wise to just give them the slip.

Vesper turned off sharply then, turning off of the road she was on and driving through the bushland. She knew that Ratchet would have some difficulty in off-roading, seeing as he was an emergency vehicle, but Bulkhead was a completely different matter, being an armoured vehicle. Another quick check of her mirrors revealed to the femme that both Autobots were still on the road, and she breathed a sigh of relief before returning her attention in front of her. She drove further through the bushland, eventually losing sight of her chasers, and eventually she stopped driving and transformed back into her robotic mode. She looked back, seeing no trace of the ones who had previously been tracking her, then breathed a sigh of relief before she took off running.

Back on the road, Ratchet and Bulkhead were trying to figure out what they could do. The medic was appalled by Miko's blackmailing attempt, but he was also unhappy with the fact that Vesper had refused to come back.

He sighed. "This is our fault," he said to Bulkhead, who sighed as well and pulled away from the side of the road. Ratchet followed suit, and the two headed away from where they'd lost Vesper. "We should return to base," he said to Bulkhead. Then he patched a communication back to base and said, "Arcee, open a Ground Bridge. We failed."

A bridge opened in front of the two, and they drove in to face the others. Optimus was still powered down, and Ratchet was thankful for that as Alice got out and he transformed. Miko stepped out of Bulkhead's cab, and he transformed as well before looking away from everyone.

Ultra Magnus sighed. "I take it that Vesper did not agree to return?" he asked, looking between the four that had gone to attempt to retrieve the femme. Ratchet shook his head before striding over to one of the nearby monitors and going back to whatever he was working on. Alice walked over to him and tapped him on the leg, wanting up, but he simply just looked down at her, shook his head, and returned to his work. Alice frowned sadly, but she didn't ask again. Instead she walked over to Miko, Jack and Raf, who were sitting on the couch and talking quietly among themselves.

Arcee, Bulkhead and Bumblebee were all standing near the Ground Bridge, looking over at the unconscious Optimus. Ultra Magnus was standing near Ratchet, but was simply keeping an eye on the Autobot leader, who did not appear to be waking any time soon.

Arcee felt guilt flood through her, and she looked down at her feet. The others were all feeling the same way, too; it was their fault that Vesper had finally decided to abandon the Autobots. Not even the mention of Optimus needing her had brought her back to them, and everyone knew that mentioning Optimus had been their best bet at regaining a comrade and an ally.

A groan suddenly made everyone – bot and human alike – stiffen, and they all slowly looked towards their leader to see that his eyes were slowly opening. The Prime was in intense agony; every strut, circuit and fibre of his being hurt. He tried to sit up, but failed to do so. Instead, he decided to look over at everyone. He had a pained yet warm smile for each of them, but that smile fell away when he noticed Vesper's absence.

"Optimus," Ratchet said, slowly walking over and looking down at the Prime with a sad expression, "I… I'm sorry."

"For… what, old friend?" the Prime asked, making sure he chose his words carefully. Then he noticed the apologetic expressions on everyone's faces. The humans, in particular, were avoiding Optimus' optics, and he bit his lip in both worry and curiosity. Then he attempted to sit up again, and he grunted in pain as he managed to do it this time. He looked around, still wondering where Vesper was, and then he frowned. "Where is—"

Arcee sighed. "She didn't stick around."

Optimus stared at her, stunned. His spark started to hurt, and if he was able to produce tears, they would have been welling up in his eyes. "What… do you mean…?" he breathed, swinging his feet slowly over the side of the table he was lying on. He winced as his pedes touched the ground, but didn't show much more of his pain. "Where did she go?"

Bulkhead shrugged. "We don't know where she is… at least, not now." He shook his head and crossed his arms over his chassis. "We tracked her down, but she gave us the slip."

Optimus said nothing as he looked sadly down at the floor, and he squeezed his optics shut. He couldn't believe that Vesper had decided to abandon the Autobots. He wondered if she was going back to the Decepticons, but he knew in his spark that she would not do that. She despised the Decepticons with all of her being for what they had done.

"Sir," Ultra Magnus said, distracting Optimus from his thoughts. "Are you well?"

The Prime slowly shook his head before slowly attempting to stand. He squeezed his eyes shut in agony but still managed to force himself onto his pedes, and he swayed quite a lot, but did manage to remain upright. His next move, however, only served to cause him to fall onto his face; he tried to take a step. He cried out as his leg gave out underneath him, and he collapsed to the ground, smashing his forehead against the floor. Ultra Magnus went to give Optimus some assistance, but the Prime shook his head as he struggled back onto his pedes.

Ratchet's optics suddenly widened, realising that Optimus was trying to regain his ability to move for only one purpose. He immediately strode forward and grabbed Optimus' arm, then growled, "You're in no condition to be chasing Vesper down!"

Optimus angrily pulled his arm out of Ratchet's grasp. "I am the only one who can convince her to return!" he growled, returning to his attempts to move around a bit better than he was currently doing. Ratchet sighed but took a few steps back, watching as the Prime stumbled around and attempted to regain his ability to walk. However, he just could not do it. After yet another failed attempt to walk, the Prime sat down on the edge of the medical table and buried his face in his servos.

"Optimus," Arcee said, walking over and standing in front of the Prime. "Don't feel bad about this. You're not to blame."

"If I am not, as you so claim," Optimus said, his voice radiating a misery that made Arcee flinch when she heard it, "Then who is?" The femme looked away then, as did the others, and Optimus' eyes widened his horror as he realised what they were all implying. "What… What do you mean?" he breathed, his optics flicked between each bot. Every time he tried to meet their eyes, they glanced away. "You… You believe yourselves to be at fault?" he asked, his voice strained.

Ratchet nodded slowly. "Yes, we do… because we didn't trust her." He looked away.

Optimus was horrified by what he'd heard. He didn't, however, take it out on the team. He understood their distrust, although he did not share it. Instead, he pressed two fingers to his audio processor and desperately tried to get in contact with the femme he cherished with his entire being, but all he got was static. Nothing more. His optics widened as he fruitlessly attempted again and again and again, but then he cried out in anguish and gave up. Burying his face in his servos, he began to cry, and everyone flinched away. Not a single one of them, in their days serving under him, had ever heard Optimus cry. And none of them liked it. It didn't seem right, hearing sobs coming from Optimus' lips.

However, Optimus' attempts at patching communications through had worked. Vesper had pulled over on the side of the road and was simply idling. Even though she had effectively scrambled her communication line, she could still receive calls. Garbled as they were, she could still receive them, and she had received every single one of Optimus' desperate calls.

She was desperately trying to restrain herself. She didn't want to cause Optimus unnecessary worry, but she also wanted to remain separate from the other bots… at least until she could do something that would make them trust her again.

"I am sorry, Optimus," she whispered to herself before continuing her journey, "But I cannot return. Not yet." She drove at a decent speed, pulling onto the highway and initialising her human holomatter form. She had a clear indication of where she wanted to go. An energon mine was located near to her current coordinates, of that she was certain. She knew that she had to go and scout it out, at least; taking it was not an option, not for her. She needed to get some back-up before she could even think about taking the energon mine from Decepticon hands.

Hiding behind an outcrop of rocks, she watched as Vehicons – worker class, not fighter class – walked out of the mine, pushing carts of energon. Her eyes narrowed as she watched, then they widened as someone else walked out of the mine. She couldn't believe her optics, and tried desperately to convince herself that she was seeing nothing more than a mere illusion, but she failed and hung her head.

"Megatron," she breathed to herself, sitting against the rocks she was hiding behind. "He lived… but how?" she asked herself, using her peripheral vision to glance around the rocks as Megatron walked over to the _Nemesis_, which had landed nearby. Her optics narrowed as she started to think. _The answer to Megatron's survival… it simply _must _be on board the _Nemesis_!_

Suddenly she heard an unmistakeable sound, and she looked over to see a Ground Bridge opening near to her. Her optics widened, and she shook her head as she scrambled behind something that was hidden from those emerging from the vortex. She soon found that it was Ultra Magnus, Wheeljack, Miko and Bulkhead, and she silently cursed as she pressed herself closer to her new hiding place.

"Alright," she heard Ultra Magnus say, "We must ensure we take this mine." It was very clear to her that none of the Autobots had noticed the _Nemesis_, nor had they realised that Megatron was still alive and kicking.

"I doubt you will be able to," she suddenly said to the group of four, although she did not move from her hiding spot. "The Decepticon warship is near here. Look around, and you shall soon discover this for yourself."

"Vesper?" Wheeljack said, his voice filled with worry. Then he turned to the others and scratched his head. "Or am I hearing things?"

Ultra Magnus shook his head. "I, too, heard her voice."

Bulkhead nodded in agreement, then frowned as he looked around. "But where is she?"

Miko looked around, searching for any indication of the Autobot femme, but her eyes settled on the _Nemesis_ before she actually saw Vesper. "Oh no…," she breathed. The bots turned and saw it too, and Vesper peered out to see Ultra Magnus' eyes flash dangerously as he spotted Megatron. Miko clearly saw him too, and she scowled. "Ugh, he's a giant metal cockroach!" she hissed, stomping her foot.

Wheeljack quickly gathered the human up and ducked behind a nearby outcrop – the very same one that Vesper had been hiding behind moments before they'd arrived – as did Bulkhead and Ultra Magnus, just as a Vehicon looked in their direction. Each of them prayed to Primus that they hadn't been detected, and Miko whimpered quietly as Wheeljack set her back down on the ground.

"We have to think up a plan, and quickly," Bulkhead grumbled. However, the moment he said that, almost everyone knew that Wheeljack was just going to do something stupid. And that was exactly what he did.

The Wrecker jumped out from behind the outcrop with a battle cry, drawing both of his katanas from his back and launching his assault on the shocked Vehicons. He cut many of them down before they could even react, and those who did manage to retaliate were unwise, for they were sliced in half as well.

Ultra Magnus groaned as he ran out, quietly ordering Bulkhead to stay put and protect Miko as he did so. Using his blasters, the lieutenant managed to give Wheeljack a bit of cover, but it wasn't enough to keep the Vehicons from surrounding the Wrecker, who welcomed the challenge cheerfully.

"Wheeljack!" Ultra Magnus yelled as he summoned something to his hand – a massive electro-magnetic pulse hammer – and swung. Wheeljack dodged, as Ultra Magnus had hoped he would do, but the unsuspecting Vehicons didn't, and they got smashed for it. "Fall back!" the lieutenant ordered, but it was too late for the both of them.

Megatron, standing near the _Nemesis_, watched as Ultra Magnus and Wheeljack fought off the Vehicons with an evilly amused expression on his face. The Autobots had fallen right into his trap, and they didn't even realise it.

Vesper, however, had realised it, and she peered out from behind the rock she was sitting against, her optics narrowing as Megatron turned on his heel and walked inside of the _Nemesis_. She ran out from her cover – revealing herself to the others – and jumped onto the warship just as it began to take off. She heard a shout, but didn't bother to check who had spoken; instead, she found her way into the ship and headed towards the bridge, where Megatron would be.

She soon found herself there, and she opened the door to find Megatron and Soundwave waiting for her. They both had their backs turned to her initially, but when she cleared her throat, the two of them whipped around. Megatron snarled at her, but she didn't flinch.

"I was wondering what had happened to you," she said simply, and Megatron's scowl grew larger. His blade appeared from just above his right servo as he clenched his fists.

"And what, pray tell, are you doing here?" he hissed, his angry red optics narrowing.

"I came to investigate something," she said simply, smiling politely. Then she turned on her heel and went to walk away, but then she turned yet again and leapt for Megatron. She shocked the 'Con greatly as she twisted her body and slammed her pede into his metal cheek, which didn't do much, but still managed to make him stumble backwards and fall to his knees. Soundwave didn't take lightly to Vesper's assault, as he leapt forward and tried to attack her, but she dodged, thanking the fact that she'd made a hobby out of learning the various forms of Cybertronian martial arts. Of course, she was all too aware that Soundwave had, like Megatron, once been a gladiator in the pits of Kaon, and she understood that he was dangerous.

A Ground Bridge suddenly opened behind the femme as she jumped back, dodging another blow from Soundwave. She looked back at it and grimaced, wondering who was returning back to the Decepticon ship, but when a familiar yellow and black bot ran through it, her optics widened.

"Bumblebee, leave!" she yelled, then she looked back at Soundwave only to get struck on the face. She cried out as she flew backwards and landed heavily on the ground. Pain shot through her shoulder and she cried out, then she looked up as Megatron managed to get to his feet. Bumblebee, however, engaged neither of the Decepticons; instead, he ran over and picked Vesper up, then dragged her through the Ground Bridge just as it closed.

She struggled against Bumblebee's grip as the two of them walked into the base, and when the scout released her, Vesper stumbled backwards. Optimus was not present in the room – Ratchet had helped the Prime to his own room so he could recharge – and for that, Vesper was quite glad.

Wheeljack, Bulkhead, Miko and Ultra Magnus had returned to base before Vesper and Bumblebee. Miko was covered in bruises, while the three bots were scratched and dented. All of them, however, seemed glad to see Vesper back, although she was in no way happy to have returned so soon.

"I left for a reason," she said angrily. "I am not pleased that you have brought me back here."

"We wanted to apologise to you," Arcee suddenly said, stunning Vesper into silence. Her anger dissipated, and she looked away as Arcee sighed, walked over and placed her servo on the scarlet femme's left shoulder. "We… shouldn't have distrusted you." She looked away, and Vesper frowned.

"You had every reason to distrust me, I will admit that," she said, looking down at the ground. "I suppose that, to you Autobots, being a former Decepticon would be a great crime." She looked at everyone, who seemed to just have apologetic expressions on their faces. Even Ultra Magnus, the one who appeared to dislike her the most, appeared to be sorrowful as well. "I understand that, but while that stigma still casts its shadow over me, then I cannot stay."

"Vesper, you need to stay," Ratchet suddenly piped up with, and everyone looked over at him.

"Why?" she asked, rubbing her arm. "I do not feel as if I should be here. I—"

"It's not your fault you were duped into being a 'Con!" Alice suddenly shouted, stamping her foot. "Don't you dare say that your spark can't be redeemed because it can!" She stormed over and put her hand defiantly on her hip. "And while we haven't been the best at helping you to realise that, we know that we're wrong, and we know that you're an Autobot just like them!" she exclaimed, gesturing at the Autobots, who were nodding in agreement.

Vesper smiled sadly, then looked away. "You are all very kind," she whispered. But she then shook her head. "Regardless of that, however, that stain will not leave. Ever." She looked up at everyone. "There are some who would say that, since I was once a Decepticon, I will return to them eventually. Are you willing to risk that?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chassis.

"I am," a tired voice said then, and everyone looked over to see Optimus standing at the end of the hallway that lead to everyone's rooms, leaning heavily on the wall. He had a relieved yet sad smile on his face, and he also looked like he was in agonising pain. "Because I know that you are no Decepticon… and you will not go back." Vesper smiled as Optimus pushed himself off of the wall and staggered over to her, then placed his servos on the femme's shoulders. "Thank you for returning, even if it were not by your own will," he said, casting a grateful look over at Bumblebee, who beeped in embarrassment and turned to talk to Raf.

"I… I may not be of much use to you or your team," Vesper said, looking tenderly into Optimus' eyes, "But I will do everything in my power to help you."

Optimus nodded. "That is all we ask of you," he said. Then, much to the surprise of everyone – including Vesper – he pulled the femme into a hug and whispered, "I missed you. I am glad you have returned."

The femme shocked everyone even more by returning the Prime's hug. "I have missed you too. And, as much as I did not believe I would admit this ever again," she said as he stepped away, placing his servos on her shoulders and keeping her at arm's length, "It is good to be back."


	19. Chapter 18

"Wait, so they're actually dating?" Miko excitedly questioned as Ratchet continued his work, and he sighed heavily. All the Japanese girl had been doing for the past three hours was peppering the doctor with questions, and he was getting terribly sick of it. However, he nodded in response to the girl's question… which she had repeated at least fifty times in the past hour. It was as if she couldn't wrap her head around it. Well, she certainly wasn't the only one. As much as everyone – even Ultra Magnus and Wheeljack – had presumed that both Vesper and Optimus had feelings for each other, they'd not expected either of them to actually show those feelings.

"Miko, really, stop asking the doc questions," Wheeljack chuckled as he strode over and plucked Miko from where she was standing, then sat the young girl on his shoulder. Ratchet didn't say a word, relieved that someone had taken Miko away from him so he could get on with his work without being asked a question every thirty seconds.

Ultra Magnus was standing by himself, musing about something, when Optimus limped over. He still had very little mobility in one of his pedes, but his rehabilitation was going well, which was the source of much relief for the others. His presence had not gone unnoticed by the warrior, who turned to face the Prime and nodded politely. "Sir."

"You seem troubled, Commander," Optimus said, giving Ultra Magnus a pained smile as he leaned his shoulder against the wall. "Is there something on your mind?" he asked, and Ultra Magnus' optics flickered in Vesper's direction. The femme was talking politely to Arcee about something, but neither Ultra Magnus nor Optimus Prime knew what they were conversing about.

"Vesper," he said simply, and Optimus turned to fully look at his femme. Now that their relationship was a bit more known, Optimus found his gaze trailing to her a little more frequently than he actually liked to admit. "She is your sparkmate, is she not?" he asked, looking at Optimus, who drew his vision away from the femme and back towards the commander.

The Prime nodded. "Yes, she is," he said, his voice quiet.

Ultra Magnus nodded. "It is always a great thing when one finds their sparkmate, but…" He trailed off and shook his head slowly. "I still do not know if I completely trust her." He sighed and looked away. "I know that you do, but—"

"It is alright, Commander," Optimus said, his voice kindly. "It will take some time to fully trust her. I understand." He looked back at her to see that she had returned to whatever she had been doing, which was actually looking up human history on the internet. Optimus couldn't help but chuckle lightly; it amused him to see her so fascinated with Earth's history, especially since he himself had been a historian at Iacon before he'd become a Prime. "The others are still adjusting as well, although I do believe that Wheeljack has had an easier time than most."

Ultra Magnus frowned. "Why do you say that?" he asked as he looked over at the Wrecker, who was playing a game of Lobbing with Bulkhead. Miko had been placed on the couch and was watching the two friends throw their giant metal ball around, fascination clear on her face.

"Wheeljack was once a guard to Vesper, when she was working at Iacon," Optimus explained. Ultra Magnus nodded, accepting the explanation, then asked if Optimus was in pain. The Prime frowned as he looked down at his damaged pede, then said, "It… I will admit, it does still pain me." He shook his head. "But there is nothing more than can be done."

"You mean there is nothing that you will _let me _do to help," Ratchet grumbled, and Optimus sighed and scratched the back of his head in embarrassment as the medic strode over and crossed his arms. "You will not regain full use of your leg if you don't let me help, Optimus."

The Prime sighed, but then noticed that Bumblebee and Raf were just pulling into the base. Bee had been on curb-side duty for almost the entire day, seeing as Raf had been forced to stay at home and do his homework, but now that he'd been let out the two of them had come straight back to the Autobot base. He greeted the two of them warmly, and asked Raf if he had finished his homework. Vesper, listening in even though she was doing some personal research, couldn't help but crack a smile at how fatherly Optimus seemed.

Suddenly a proximity sensor went off, and Vesper frowned as she tapped away at the monitor. She noticed that it was just Agent Fowler, and she looked over at the lift as the door opened and the agent stepped out. Optimus limped over as the agent crossed his arms and glared at everyone.

"Is something the matter, Agent Fowler?" Optimus asked curiously, frowning.

"Of course something's the matter!" Fowler growled, and Optimus was taken aback by the man's tone of voice. He'd expected the tone before Fowler had met the kids and had warmed up to the group of Cybertronians, but now? It was quite alarming to hear it. "The Decepticons just attacked and blew up half of New York!"

Hearing these words caused Ratchet to stiffen, and his eyes widened in horror as he turned to look at the special agent. Everyone had been shocked by these words, but Ratchet was even more horrified by them. Mainly because, about two hours ago, Alice had requested to go home and he'd bridged her… to New York. Where she lived. He didn't say anything for a few minutes, but once Optimus asked who would go in his stead – he most certainly couldn't, due to his pede – Ratchet turned to the Prime and said, "I will go."

"You?" Vesper asked, her tone polite yet worried as she stepped away from the monitor she was using to conduct her research. "Forgive me, Doctor, but is this not out of your comfort zone?"

Ratchet nodded. "Of course it is!" he growled. Then his tone softened and he clenched his servos, squeezing his eyes shut. "But… I have to go." He looked away as everyone glanced at him curiously. "For Alice."

"I do not follow," Optimus said, putting his servo on the railing of the platform that Fowler was standing and using it to support himself, wincing as his pede caused him pain.

"Wait," Raf said, frowning and looking up at the sad medic. "Is that why Alice always has to be bridged in?" he asked. Ratchet nodded slowly, hesitantly, and there were horrified gasps all around. Ultra Magnus' fist clenched, Wheeljack and Bulkhead shared a look, Arcee's eyes widened, Bee beeped something to himself, Vesper looked away, and Optimus' eyes darkened. Jack and Miko shared a horrified look, while Raf simply said, "Oh," and looked down at the ground.

"Then it is imperative," Optimus said, limping over to the Ground Bridge and setting the coordinates into the control mechanism before pulling the lever down and opening a bridge, "That you all head out as quickly as possible." He turned to Ultra Magnus. "You are in command," he said, and the lieutenant nodded.

Miko suddenly piped up with, "Shouldn't someone stay with Optimus?" as she looked at everyone, and they all nodded in agreement. The group decided that it would be wisest for Vesper to stay behind, and although the femme felt a bit useless, she understood their reasoning. The only sort of fighting Vesper had ever done was to defend herself and occasionally one other; she was incapable of doing much more than that. So she mutely agreed to stay behind as the others ran into the Ground Bridge, and as Optimus closed the vortex she felt worry course through her body.

"Optimus, I… I am worried," she said, turning to the bot, who was leaning against the control system with a slightly pained expression.

He nodded. "I am too, Vesper," he said, a frown appearing on his face. "But there is little that we can do." He shook his head and looked towards the Ground Bridge. "For now, we can only wait… and hope that the others succeed on their mission… and that Alice is alright."

Alice was actually alright; she hadn't been at home at the time, which had been attacked by Decepticons. Instead, she'd been at a mechanic, where she worked. She was still employed even though she was only utilising one hand, mainly because she'd proved that she could still do the work. Of course, she wasn't working at the moment; she was standing out front, a ratchet in hand (something she had been quite amused by when she'd thought back to her Autobot guardian), and she was looking at the humungous plume of smoke rising from half of New York.

She sighed as her hand tightened around the ratchet, and she wished that Ratchet was actually with her. She knew that Decepticons had done this, and she knew why, too; they were looking for her and they had only known where she lived.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she thought of everyone who had been in the area surrounding her home at the time of the Decepticon attack. She knew that a lot of people had definitely been seriously injured, but she had no idea how many had been killed. It pained her to think about that, knowing that it was because of her that they'd all been hurt or had perished.

"Hey, Alice!" someone shouted, and the white haired girl turned to see one of her co-workers striding towards her, a concerned frown on his face and a phone in his hand. He held it out to her and said, "It's for you," while holding his other hand out. Alice gave him the ratchet before taking the phone, thanking her co-worker – who nodded and walked away, tool in hand – and pressing the phone to her ear.

"Hello?" she asked, and she heard a relieved sigh on the other end.

"_Alice, it's Ratchet_," she heard her guardian say, and her face lit up.

"Oh, hey Ratch," she said cheerfully. Then she frowned. "Why'd you sigh with relief when I answered?" she asked, the skin on the bridge of her nose creasing as she wondered what it had meant.

"_The Decepticons attacked your house, and I didn't know if you were there_," he admitted, and Alice bit her lip.

"Nah, I got called into work about an hour ago," she explained, and she heard yet another relieved sigh from Ratchet's end. "But I can just tell my boss that I need to leave, if you want to come and get me?" she inquired.

"_Please_," was all Ratchet said, and Alice farewelled him before hanging up and wandering off to locate her boss. She quickly informed him of the situation, and – after being told to fill in her time sheet – the girl found herself waiting for Ratchet, who pulled up about ten minutes later. She immediately pulled the passenger side door open and jumped in, closing the door after her, but she didn't even have time to put her seatbelt on before Ratchet screamed away from the curb.

"Whoa, slow down!" she exclaimed, shocked, but the emergency vehicle didn't slow. If anything, he just sped up. "Hey, what's gotten into you?" she asked, frowning. Ratchet said nothing, and this caused her to scowl and slam her fist down on the dashboard. "Answer me!"

"Alice, will you not?" Ratchet suddenly growled. "I'm trying to get back to the others as fast as I can! If the Decepticons see me…" He trailed off, and the vehicle seemed to shudder. "They clearly have something that can destroy half of New York! If they hit me with it, we're _both_ scrapped!"

"Oh," was all that the girl managed to choke out, and then she fell completely silent. She scratched her head awkwardly, and then heard a sigh from Ratchet.

"I'm… sorry that I snapped at you," he said after a while, but the human girl said nothing. Instead she looked out of the window, which caused Ratchet to sigh again. "I was just worried about you. Please don't ignore me." Alice continued to ignore his words, but this time the medic got the message and just shut up. He soon returned to the others, and the moment he pulled up Alice got out and walked away from him. He transformed and sadly looked over at her as she walked over and greeted Miko, Jack and Raf.

"What did you say to her?" Bulkhead questioned, walking over and looking over at the four humans, who were chattering happily among themselves.

Ratchet shook his head. "I snapped at her."

Bulkhead sighed, but said nothing more as a Ground Bridge opened for the group. They all headed inside, Ratchet slowly walking after the others, and soon found themselves back at the Autobot base. But there was no time for greetings; each bot noticed that Vesper and Optimus seemed highly alarmed and incredibly concerned about something, and as the two Autobots turned to the rest of the group, Ratchet felt the energon in his veins stop flowing…

Because of the terrified looks on both of their faces.


	20. Chapter 19

The group sat in silence as they all took note of what they'd been told. After they'd returned to base and had seen the horror-struck looks on Optimus' and Vesper's faces, they'd questioned them, and had been told that Vesper believed the Decepticons had rebuilt the cannon she'd destroyed.

"I don't get it," Arcee growled, clenching her servo and gritting her teeth. She glared at Vesper, who shrunk back. "You said the weapon was destroyed!" Arcee shouted, and the other femme whimpered as Arcee stood and took a few threatening steps forward before she was stopped by Bumblebee and Bulkhead.

"I was certain that it was!" Vesper exclaimed, her tone indicating that she was utterly terrified of the two-wheeler. "The explosive in the cannon's base should have destroyed it beyond salvage or repair!" She turned away and wrapped her arms around her torso, tightly clutching her sides. "I did not know…"

"Didn't know _what_?!" Arcee growled, still being restrained by her fellow Autobots. Ultra Magnus, Wheeljack, the humans and Ratchet were all standing together, ready to step in if they needed to. Optimus was leaning on the wall, keeping a close eye on the scenario that was unfolding in front of him with narrowed eyes. "That your plan to keep us in the dark about their plan failed?!"

Vesper whipped around, growled as she heard the two-wheeler's insult, and her servos clenched into fists. Even if she was timid, she hated being accused of something that she was not responsible for. "What are you talking about?" she hissed, her optics narrowing as she stepped forward. "I knew nothing about any 'plan' as you so accuse; I am just as surprised as you!" Then she turned away and stormed down the hallway, leaving everyone stunned at the femme's abrupt outburst. Then everyone looked towards Optimus, who had a completely monotone face. It was only Ratchet who saw the utterly furious look deep within the Prime's optics, but the medic was intelligent enough not to speak about it.

Instead, he turned to Arcee, sighed and, keeping his voice low, said, "You need to watch your glossa." He grimaced angrily at the femme, who stiffened as she was released. "We only just got her back, and she _will_ leave again if this is how she's treated." He looked over at Optimus, who was now limping over to the children and inquiring to their health. He was, quite clearly, trying to keep his mind off of Vesper, and Ratchet understood why. "Arcee, Vesper is an ally to us, one that we cannot afford to lose," he said, loud enough for the others to hear. "Former Decepticon or not, she _is_ an Autobot and she _is_ our friend."

He turned on his heel and walked away from the two-wheeler, catching sight of the grateful look that Optimus was sending him, and he nodded to the Prime before resuming the work he'd left behind when he'd headed to New York in Optimus' stead. Optimus himself stood and limped over, then asked politely to speak quietly with Ratchet. The medic obliged, and Optimus said, "I… was speaking with Vesper earlier, and she convinced me to let you attend to my foot."

Ratchet's familiar cheesy grin appeared on his face. "I knew that she'd be able to," he said, pointing to his medical table as he spoke. Optimus sighed as he limped over and sat down on the edge of the table, elevating his pede so that the doctor could check it and poke around, see what the damages were. He soon came to the conclusion that quite a number of struts and fibres were damaged, but repairable, and Ratchet nodded. Forcing Optimus to lay down, Ratchet induced stasis before getting started on the repairs.

Vesper, if she was aware that Optimus had finally taken her advice, couldn't have cared less at the current time. She was sitting on her berth, legs curled up to her chest, arms around them, forehead resting on her knees. She couldn't believe that Arcee had accused her of something like that. The femme had truly been unaware that the cannon could have been rebuilt; her mentor had repeatedly told her that the explosive had been potent enough to mangle the cannon beyond repair. Sure, it could have been possible to salvage parts, but the parts would have been mangled, ruined, not much use to anyone.

A knock on her door startled her, and she looked up as the door opened, revealing Wheeljack standing there. He walked over to her as she smiled sadly, then sat down next to her and sighed. "Look, Vesp, I—"

"Wheeljack, you need not say anything," she said, looking away sadly and resting her chin on her knees. "I am aware that you all do not trust me fully."

"That's not what I was trying to say, Vesp," Wheeljack chuckled, gently punching the femme. She made a complantative noise and rubbed her arm, but gave Wheeljack her audio processer as he said, "Vesp, I know that you hate being reminded of your… former alliance." He looked at her, his bright blue optics full of trust. "But I know, deep in my spark, that you weren't ever really a 'Con. You're too kind."

"You really believe so?" Vesper said, a sliver of hope in her wavering voice.

The Wrecker nodded. "Yeah. I've never seen you actively attempt to hurt someone unless you or the ones you're close to are in danger," he said, grinning. Then he clapped his servo on her shoulder. "So don't sweat it, okay? You're no 'Con, and the others are just going to have to deal." He stood up and stood in front of her, crossing his arms over his chassis and smiling warmly. "So chin up. You're as much of an Autobot as the rest of us." Then he turned on his heel and walked back over to the door. It opened as he looked over his shoulder at the femme, then grinned before walking out, the door closing behind him.

He walked out to the others, and looked over at Optimus, whose foot had been repaired and was currently still in stasis. Then he looked over at the others and gave them all the thumbs up. Ratchet immediately crossed his arms over his chassis.

"You think you managed to convince her to stay?" Bulkhead asked as Ratchet's right eyebrow rose, and Wheeljack nodded.

"Yeah, hopefully," he said, looking back at the hallway, towards Vesper's room. Then he turned back to Arcee. "You're lucky I knew Vesper before the war broke out."

"No offence, Arcee," Miko suddenly said, striding over and putting her hands on her hips as she looked up at the two-wheeler. "But you've been really nasty to Vesper of late."

This caused the two-wheeler to stiffen, then her eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

Jack stepped over so that he was standing next to Miko and crossed his arms over his chest. "You haven't been acting the same since we returned from New York, Arcee," he said, his voice sounding very dark. "In fact, it's almost as if you're not yourself."

Bumblebee chirped and beeped, and Raf looked up at his guardian before looking back at the others and frowning. "Bee says that there was a bright flash of light just after Ratchet left to pick Alice up."

The medic whipped around to face the twelve-year-old human boy. "What?!" he exclaimed.

Ultra Magnus frowned. "Come to think of it, I'm sure that there was something of the sort." He shook his head. "But none of us thought anything of it."

"So you didn't tell me?!" Ratchet demanded, striding forward and almost stepping on Miko and Jack, who cried out and hurried out of the way. "The Decepticons are planning something big, and you think that a flash of light is _nothing to be concerned about_?!" the medic roared, and even Vesper – sitting on her berth and mulling over what Wheeljack had said earlier – heard him. She immediately stood and hurried out, standing at the door of the hallway and remaining in the shadows as she started to observe the situation before her.

"Ratchet, calm down," Bulkhead said, his tone worried as he strode over and clapped his servo on the medic's shoulder.

The doctor threw the former Wrecker's hand off and growled at him, causing Bulkhead's optics to widen as he stumbled backwards, alarmed. But before he could do anything more, Vesper's eyes flashed as she noticed a slight differentiation with Arcee. As an analyst, Vesper possessed considerable skill picking up differences in body language, the way one held oneself, speech patterns, and so forth. And while this Arcee showed no differences in many of those, there was a difference… in her body language. Vesper had noticed that Arcee kept glancing around, almost worried, or perhaps suspicious, but it had not occurred to the scarlet femme that the Arcee standing before her was a fake… until now.

Vesper's eyes widened as Arcee's body language changed yet again; the other femme became relaxed. A bit too relaxed for Vesper's liking, and she stepped out of the shadows, revealing herself to everyone and shocking Arcee.

"Are you really Arcee?" she asked, her cyan optics narrowing as she strode over, stopping about five metres in front of the other femme. "Or are you a Decepticon that has taken on Arcee's form?"

"What are you talking about?" Arcee hissed, but Vesper shook her head.

"You fooled me before, but you cannot fool me anymore," Vesper said, her tone calm as she looked into the other femme's eyes. _I know you are not Arcee._

Arcee's eyes narrowed, and for a few minutes the two femmes stared each other down. Then the two-wheeler began to laugh, and Jack stiffened as he realised that the laugh coming from Arcee was in no way hers. He turned on his heel and tried to flee, but 'Arcee' twisted around and grabbed the human boy. He struggled in her grip as her free servo turned into a blaster, but as soon as that blaster touched the side of his face, he stilled.

"Release the human," Vesper growled, although she didn't reveal her own weapons. She didn't want to risk 'Arcee' shooting Jack, and showing her own weapons was not going to help his case any.

"Make me," 'Arcee' hissed, and Vesper shivered, feeling like somebody had just run the very tip of their finger up her backstrut. Suddenly the two-wheeler turned on her heel and ran over to the Ground Bridge control mechanism, typing in some coordinates and putting her hand on the lever. "As soon as I open this," the femme hissed, her eyes narrowing and flashing dangerously, "The Decepticon armada will be upon you!"

Alice, who had been silently observing the situation the entire time, grabbed something out from her nearby bag before she walked over and tapped 'Arcee' on the leg. The fake looked down only to have Alice grin and yell, "Eat this, sucker!" and shoot her with something, hitting her right between the eyes; Ratchet noticed with some amusement that it was a Taser. The fake Arcee cried out and dropped Jack as she was electrocuted and dropped to the ground, convulsing.

"You own a Taser?" Jack gasped as he put his hand on his hip, wincing in pain, as Alice disconnected the cartridge and let it fall to the floor. Then she nodded.

"Yeah. Safety precaution," she said simply, walking back over and returning the cartridge-less device to her bag. "Although now I need to get some more cartridges." She turned back to the others and shrugged.

Ratchet strode over and knelt down in front of Alice, then nodded. "Good work."

Alice looked warily into her guardian's eyes, then nodded. "Thanks." She smiled stiffly, then turned back to the fake Arcee and frowned. "So… what are we gonna do with that?" she said, looking at the others and gesturing in the direction of the fake.

Vesper strode over and knelt down next to it. "We may find some useful information in the processor of this one," she said, tapping the forehead of the disguised 'Con, "About where the real Arcee is." She looked over at Ratchet. "Is that an option?"

The medic frowned, then stroked his chin. "Usually it isn't, but…" He looked over at the unconscious Optimus. "At present time we have no other clues to Arcee's whereabouts."

"So you're going through with it?" Wheeljack asked, and the doctor reluctantly nodded.

"I have no choice, unless Arcee manages to—" The field medic found himself interrupted as the comm line started to go ballistic with an emergency beacon, and everyone just turned to face each other, stunned looks on their faces, before Ultra Magnus strode over and opened the channel.

"This… Arcee… request… back-up… sending… coordinates…," a feminine voice said, although it was broken and barely audible. It did not matter, however; the group had gained contact from their friend, and she was in need – possibly quite desperately – of back-up. Ratchet opted to stay behind with Alice as he typed in Arcee's coordinates and opened a Ground Bridge. Vesper decided to go along with the others, and when they departed – leaving the unconscious Optimus behind with Ratchet and Alice – the medic closed the bridge, and the atmosphere immediately became tense.

"Alice," Ratchet eventually said, clearing his throat as he did so. The human girl looked up at him, her blue eyes sharp and icy. "I… I really am sorry." He looked away. "I… should never have snapped at you."

He didn't see the small, apologetic smile on Alice's face, and he didn't see the tender look in her eyes. "You shouldn't have to apologise," she breathed then, reaching up and touching the doctor's face. His optics flickered over to her, and his spark fluttered within his chassis. "If anything…" She looked away. "I should apologise to you."

Ratchet frowned. "Why?"

Alice sighed as tears welled up into her eyes. "You… you were just trying to protect me… and I hit you and ignored you." Her hand fell to her side, and she clenched her fist as she started to cry. "I'm so, so sorry," she cried, collapsing onto the ground.

Ratchet flinched. He hated it when Alice cried, because he felt like he'd failed her yet again. He knew that, when Optimus had assigned him to be Alice's guardian, Optimus had only meant for Ratchet to keep an eye on the human girl, make sure she was safe from Decepticon threat. The Prime had never meant for Ratchet to be more than a guardian.

He gently reached over and brushed the crying girl with his fingertip. "Alice, please… please stop crying," he breathed, only barely managing to force the words out. "Don't cry… I don't like seeing you sad…"

Alice suddenly pressed herself Ratchet's cheek as she cried, and the medic's spark almost broke at how sad the human girl was. He gently placed his servo around her and closed his optics, listening to her sobs even though they pained him to hear.

"Alice, look up at me," he said after a while, and the human girl obliged, sniffling and looking up at him tearfully. Then he leaned down and softly kissed her for a few seconds before pulling away and using his thumb to gently wipe her tears away. "Stop crying. It's alright." He smiled sadly at her. "I forgive you."

"And I forgive you," Alice breathed as she smiled up at him, tears still glistening in her eyes. Then she awkwardly hugged Ratchet with her single arm before he picked her up and stood.

"Now, don't repeat this to the others, okay? If they ask, just say that we talked and got past our differences," Ratchet advised as he strode over to the monitor near to the medical table and set the human girl down next to it. She nodded, and he grinned at her before turning his attention to Optimus. The Prime was still in stasis, although he soon wasn't going to be. Ratchet hoped that Optimus, once he recovered from the stupor he would be in when he awoke, would be able to use his foot again, because there was little more the medic could actually do for it.

The other bots, however, could have used Optimus' assistance. Currently most of them were hiding behind something, but they were not completely safe. Vehicons were shooting at them, and blasts were going right over their heads. Vesper was supporting Arcee, who was injured and leaking energon everywhere. Bulkhead, Bumblebee and Wheeljack were firing every so often, trying to keep the Vehicons from advancing. The human children were huddled near Vesper and Arcee, with Jack trying to wake the two-wheeler with no success.

Ultra Magnus was a different case. He was in the midst of a large group of Vehicons, smashing his way through them with his EMP hammer – which had been named the Magnus Hammer by Wheeljack – and giving the other Autobots a bit more time to try and rouse Arcee.

"Scrap!" Bulkhead cursed as he looked over at Vesper, who was still supporting the other femme while Jack was trying to wake her. He heard a strangled cry then, and he peered over his friend's head to see Ultra Magnus on the ground, his hammer lying in front of him, and Bulkhead saw Wheeljack run out to give the fallen 'Bot some cover.

"We need an urgent Ground Bridge!" he heard Vesper yell as the femme pressed her fingers to her audio processor, and as a swirling green vortex opened Bulkhead watched Vesper, dragging Arcee, run into it, followed by the children. As Wheeljack killed the remaining Vehicons, Bulkhead and Bumblebee ran out to give the Wrecker some assistance. Bumblebee helped Wheeljack to support Ultra Magnus – who was still conscious, just in a lot of pain – and head towards the bridge, while Bulkhead ran over and picked up the Magnus Hammer. They hurried into the bridge, soon finding themselves at the Autobot base.

Questions were asked by both Ratchet and Alice. They wanted to know what had happened, and when the group who'd been attacked explained that they'd been surprised attacked by the Decepticons, who'd tracked Arcee's comm link to find out her coordinates, they fell into silence as Ratchet got to work. Arcee had to be put in stasis while he worked on her, and when he was done about a half hour later, he checked out Ultra Magnus, although he was far happier to see that Ultra Magnus would make a much swifter recovery. He did advise that the lieutenant take it easy, however, before checking the others for wounds and administering transfusions of energon wherever needed.

Vesper was the only one to decline Ratchet's medical scan, and while he didn't quite agree with her declination, he just let her be as she walked over and knelt down next to Optimus. Then she questioned if he had shown any signs of waking, to which Ratchet disappointed her with a shake of his head.

"I see," she said, her voice soft as she returned to gaze upon Optimus' face, which looked calmer than usually. Then she stood and yawned. "I think I will go and recharge," she said, her voice just loud enough for the others to hear. "I bid you all goodnight," she said, smiling politely before walking away from the rest of Team Prime.

"Goodnight!" Alice said cheerfully. Then she turned to the others and asked the question that had been plaguing her thoughts for the past half an hour. "Is she alright?" The human girl – always quite perceptive when it came to emotions – had noticed that Vesper had been shaking slightly.

Wheeljack shook his head. "No, she's not," he said, looking down the hallway Vesper had disappeared down. "She doesn't like fighting, but she was forced to… and she killed a Vehicon."

"I don't see how that's a problem," Alice scoffed, although she did feel like she was missing something.

Wheeljack shrugged. "Me neither, but… she seemed really upset about it." He shook his head. "In any case, she won't talk to me about it…"

"Then maybe she'll talk to Optimus!" Alice said, forgetting momentarily that the Prime was out cold. She only remembered that small fact when she turned to the medical table and saw him laying on the table, his optics closed and his face serene. "Oh. Right. He's unconscious."

"For now," Ultra Magnus said, drawing attention to himself, "We should leave Vesper be. She's obviously dealing with… something from her past."


	21. Chapter 20

_"__Sir?" Vesper asked as she strode over to her mentor, who was busy finishing his work on the weapon that he had created before the war. They were standing on the _Nemesis_, Megatron's warship, and Vesper's Decepticon symbol – sitting on her right shoulder – gleamed in the waning light. "Sir, it has been hours since you rested. Would you like me to finish the power source's container?" she asked, kneeling down next to her mentor and frowning as he looked over at her._

_Haeres' expression – a focused, intense frown as he continued his work – changed into his familiar, comforting smile. On his chest gleamed the same emblem as the one on Vesper's shoulder. "No, my dear student. It is fine." He looked at the power source container, which was sitting in his left servo; in his right he held a blow torch. "All that needs doing now is putting the cannon together." He placed the part down next to the other two parts of the weapon before standing and stretching._

_"__And then we shall be able to defend ourselves against the Autobots?" Vesper asked as Haeres walked towards the door, heading towards his workshop. He stopped at the doorway and turned to the femme, nodded, then motioned for her to follow. She sighed heavily before stepping after her mentor, biting her lip and rubbing her shoulder as the two walked through the hallways of the battleship. Below them was the planet of Cybertron, and as Vesper's thoughts turned to the numerous battles taking place on the surface, she shivered and shook her head. "Sir, can I ask you something?" the femme suddenly asked, and Haeres stopped before turning to her and raising an eyebrow._

_"__Of course, my dear," he said, his voice still warm and kindly. His optics – a strange colour of red, which unnerved Vesper considering she was used to seeing blue optics – still regarded her the same way that he'd always regarded her, but there was a sharp edge to them, one that the femme didn't like. "Does something plague you?"_

_"__Why are the Autobots fighting against us anyway?" she asked, looking out one of the nearby windows. "Is it not peace that both factions desire? Unity?" She looked at her mentor, her eyes filled with grief and pain. "Why must we continually fight like this?"_

_Haeres shook his head sadly. "I am sorry, but I do not know. All I know is that the Autobot leader – Optimus Prime, in case you wanted to know – stole the Matrix from wherever it was located and hidden." He shook his head as he turned on his heel and continued to walk. The two bots walked in silence until they got to Vesper's room, and after Haeres bid the femme goodnight, he left her alone. Immediately Starscream seemed to appear from nowhere, and Vesper whimpered as he walked over and ran a finger up her arm._

_"__Hello, dear Vesper," he drawled, his eyes flashing with lust, and Vesper shuddered as the Seeker opened her door and roughly shoved her inside. Then he pushed her over to her berth and down onto it before shoving her thighs apart. Vesper knew that there was no point in struggling; she'd learned ages ago that resisting would only result in agonising pain. Starscream hungrily, forcefully kissed her and touched her in all the places she had only wanted to be touched by her sparkmate, and she felt disgust bloom within her chest. She did not return the kiss, did not touch Starscream in return, but the Decepticon didn't appear to care._

_After he'd finished with Vesper, he pulled his spike from her valve – which he had forced open, for there was no way the femme would willingly open it for him – and stood up from her berth. As she cringed and curled up, closing her legs and pressing her thighs tightly together, the Seeker gave her a disgusted look before turning on his heel and walking out of the door. Vesper felt like her spark was lodged in her throat, and she curled into foetal position and desperately willed her spark to stop. She felt utterly disgusted and violated… and also felt confused._

_She had always known rape to be a crime of the highest degree. She wondered, then, why Starscream – the commander of the Seeker armada that were a key component in fending off the usurper Autobots – continually raped her._

_A half hour later, she sighed as she sat up, then looked out of a nearby window. She stood, her knees shaking, and stumbled over to the door before opening it. The corridors around her room were deserted, and she found it a simple matter to sneak around. She walked into one of the prison and interrogation areas then, and found herself frozen with horror at what she saw._

_Megatron was pressing one large pede on the chassis of a bot, a cruel grin plastered on his face. His dentas gleamed in the light as he put pressure on the bot's chest, and Vesper heard a pleading cry from the doomed bot as the Decepticon leader crushed his spark chamber, and then the femme watched as the life left the poor bot's optics, its body going completely limp._

_"__No…," she breathed to herself as she looked over and saw Haeres standing nearby, an equally cruel smile on his face. Standing next to him was Starscream, who looked gleeful at seeing the spilled energon from the bot. Keeping her distance, remaining hidden, and checking the bot briefly for a symbol and finding none, Vesper realised that Megatron had just killed someone who was aligned with neither side, who probably wanted nothing more than to survive._

_"__Bravo, Lord Megatron," Haeres said as he strode over and looked down at the innocent bot. "Yet another one of those stupid Autobots dealt with." He looked up at Megatron, who seemed quite pleased with himself. "Are you going after Optimus Prime next?"_

Vesper's optics snapped open and she sat up abruptly, panting heavily. Her spark was beating frantically within the confines of her chassis, and she placed a shaky hand to her chest and took deep breaths, trying to calm herself desperately.

She stood and paced around, trying to soothe her rapidly beating spark. She tried to forget the memory that had just been dredged up, but she found that every time she closed her optics those horrific images kept flicking underneath her eyelids, and she shuddered with horror. She had felt every single horrible touch over again, and she sat down on the edge of her berth, burying her face in her servos. She felt disgusted, filthy, violated all over again, and she hated herself for allowing herself to be penetrated by anyone else but her sparkmate.

She decided that it would be best to clear her processor, so she decided to go for a drive in the night air. She'd always loved to gaze into the sky, to see the innumerable stars and galaxies above her, and it usually helped to calm her.

Walking out of her room, she took note of the fact that nobody – not even Ratchet – was around, and she sighed as she realised that she was up incredibly early. Checking the time as it was recorded on Earth, she noticed that it was three in the morning, and she understood that it was quite a ridiculous time for anyone to be up. She considering going back and restarting the recharge cycle, but when she recalled the horrible memory that had terrorised her, she thought against it and instead transformed into her vehicle mode and drove out of the base.

As soon as the cold night wind touched her, Vesper instantly felt better. She drove along the roads, avoiding the towns and never straying too far from the Autobot base. She occasionally pulled over and simply idled on the roadside, observing the stars. But most of the time she moved around, driving until the sun began to rise over the horizon, and when that started to happen she began to return to the Autobot base, driving slowly as the warm, radiant sunbeams trailed over her body. She liked the sunlight's warmth, for it calmed her in the same manner that stargazing did.

When she finally drove into the base, she noticed that only Ratchet and Alice were awake, and they were chatting among themselves. Turning to look at her as she drove in and transformed, both of them smiled and greeted her. Then Ratchet asked, "Why were you awake and out so early?"

The femme shook her head. "I could not sleep," she said simply. Not exactly a lie, but not exactly truth either. "I was just clearing my thoughts."

Ratchet crossed his arms over his chassis and frowned, seeming to understand that she wasn't telling him everything. "Have you had difficulties sleeping for a while?" he asked, his tone concerned.

Vesper stiffened, not sure how she should answer that, but then she sighed and turned her head away, rubbing her left arm nervously. "I… I guess you could say that."

"How long has this been happening?" Alice suddenly enquired, and Vesper, using the corner of her optics, looked down at the one-armed human girl. "Your insomnia, I mean."

Vesper shrugged. "It… is an on-off kind of thing… It can stop happening for some time, but then it will re-emerge…" She shook her head as she turned her head back to the two. "Last night was the first time it has happened for months."

Ratchet grumbled something to himself, turning away and gripping his chin before turning back to Vesper and nodding. "In any case, if it happens again, inform me and I'll see if I can prescribe something that will help."

Vesper nodded. "Thank you, Doctor," she said just as she began to hear footsteps, and soon enough Bulkhead lumbered out, looking absolutely exhausted. Vesper frowned, as did Ratchet and Alice, as the armoured car yawned.

"I hope you're not intending to go and pick Miko up," Ratchet warned, and Bulkhead shook his head. This made Ratchet release a relieved sigh as he said, "Good, because you look absolutely exhausted. You'll have an accident if you went to get her."

The others walked out just after Ratchet had spoken, and Optimus immediately noticed that Vesper was keeping her optics pointed at the floor, attempting to not meet with his. He wanted to go and ask her what was wrong, but he respected her, and refused to force her to tell him anything if she didn't want to. Instead, the Prime decided to send everyone out on energon scouting missions as soon as Ultra Magnus and Wheeljack entered the base. The kids, having school, were not attending the missions, so Optimus paired bots together. Bulkhead and Wheeljack were to head to one set of coordinates. Arcee and Bumblebee were to head to another set of coordinates. Ultra Magnus opted to go on his own, and while Optimus didn't feel necessarily alright with that, he knew that the commander was perfectly capable of taking care of himself.

"Ratchet, are you willing to stay here?" he asked, turning to the medic as the others departed to go complete their missions.

Ratchet frowned and looked down at Alice. "Well, sure, but…" He turned to look at Vesper, who was still avoiding Optimus' optics. "I also believe that Vesper should stay behind."

This caused the femme to look up and smile softly. "On the contrary, Doctor, it may do me some good to go on a scouting mission."

Ratchet seemed very concerned by this, but sighed and relented with a nod of his head. "Alright. And what would you have Alice and I do?" he asked, turning back to Optimus.

"If we are not back before school ends, please pick up the kids," he said, typing in a set of coordinates and opening the Ground Bridge. "And make sure our prisoner does not escape."

Ratchet had completely forgotten about the Decepticon femme that had faked being Arcee, and he grimaced as he thought back to her. After the others had returned and Vesper had headed off to get some shuteye, Bulkhead and Wheeljack had taken the femme to another room, where she'd been locked in stasis cuffs and left. However, he still nodded, and Optimus nodded once before turning to Vesper.

"Are you coming?" he asked, and the femme nodded before walking into the Ground Bridge, following Optimus. Ratchet waited until the two had left before closing the vortex and turning to Alice.

"We best check on our prisoner," he said, and Alice nodded before the two walked down the hallway. They soon reached the room the Decepticon femme was in, and Ratchet opened the door to find her sitting in the corner, her blazing red optics glaring right at the two. Alice flinched a little but didn't back down, and Ratchet didn't appear to even be bothered by the harsh look he was receiving. Instead, he strode directly over and transformed one of his servos into a blade. Then, in a cheerful voice, he said, "Now, I'm going to ask you a few questions, and if you don't answer…" He held up his blade so that it gleamed in the light. "I will inflict pain on you until you do."

The Decepticon growled. "I will never give you the information you seek," she hissed.

Ratchet's eyes narrowed as he put the blade to her shoulder. "What is your name?" he asked. The Decepticon sealed her lips, and Ratchet gritted his dentas before stabbing the femme. She cried out as energon started dripping from the wound, and Ratchet repeated his question with a bit more ferocity.

"My name… is… Duplicon," the femme hissed, her optics blazing angrily as Ratchet pulled his blade from her shoulder.

"How did you camouflage as Arcee?" he asked, putting the blade to her other shoulder. For a few brief moments, Duplicon looked as if she was going to refrain from telling the doctor what he wanted to know, but then she seemed to recall what the doctor had done, and with an angry sigh, she conceded.

"Camouflage paint," the 'Con growled.

Alice frowned as she looked up at her guardian. "What's that?"

Ratchet shook his head. "Camouflage paint is a miraculous substance that can make one Cybertronian look like another, even if the two have completely different robot modes." He then frowned at Duplicon. "The two Cybertronians need to have the same alternate mode for the paint to work, however."

"Woah," was all the human girl managed to gasp before Ratchet nodded and returned his attention back to the Decepticon femme.

"Now, why did you disguise yourself as Arcee?" he asked, tapping her shoulder lightly with his blade. Again the femme hesitated, not wanting to give information up, but her fear of pain won out and she relented yet again.

"Lord Megatron ordered me to infiltrate your ranks, open a bridge to your location, and allow his armies to kill you all off." She looked away. "In order to do that, he sent me, as I possess the same alternate mode as your Autobot femme." She looked back at Ratchet and growled. "Any more questions, _doctor_?"

"Just one," Ratchet said, smiling. "Megatron already knows where our base is… or did he forget?"

Duplicon didn't even need convincing to spill. "During that explosion, the one the _defector_ caused," she hissed, putting particular emphasis on 'defector' – it was quite obvious who Duplicon meant – before shaking her head and saying, "The _Nemesis_' systems were damaged. We can no longer track you down… and Megatron isn't stupid enough to send a scout out."

"On the contrary," Ratchet chuckled, "I say he's stupid to _not_ send a scout out. After all, if he sent Laserbeak…" He trailed off as Duplicon's eyes widened. Then she grinned maliciously, and Ratchet instantly knew that something was up. "What are you—"

"You're a fool, Autobot," Duplicon hissed before her body suddenly convulsed, and Ratchet's eyes widened as he realised what she was doing.

"No!" he cried, but it was already too late. By the time the word left his lips, Duplicon had already offlined herself. He knelt down and scanned her for any signs of life, even though he already knew that there was absolutely nothing to detect, and sighed as his suspicions were confirmed. "Scrap," he muttered as he stood and turned back to a shocked Alice.

"What… what just happened?" the girl exclaimed, looking up at her guardian as he knelt down.

He shook his head. "What would you humans call killing yourself?" he asked.

Alice felt the blood in her veins run cold, and she looked down at the floor before mumbling, "Suicide. It's called suicide."

Ratchet frowned, noticing that Alice's tone seemed a bit unhappy and despondent, but said nothing about it. Instead he nodded and said, "That's what Duplicon just did," before scooping Alice up and walking out of the room. He walked down the hallway, and when he finally got to the main foyer, he set Alice down near one of the medical tables and checked the time. Then he groaned. "It's nearly time for school to let out… and the others aren't back yet."

Alice snorted with amusement. "You could sound a little happier about picking them up. I know you cherish the kids," she said, poking him in the arm.

Ratchet rolled his eyes. "Okay, only to you will I _ever_ admit that I do like having them around," he eventually muttered, and Alice snickered. Then the Autobot medic sighed. "Someone will have to stay here and monitor the comm lines," he said, frowning, "But you can't stay here on your own."

"Why not?" Alice asked. "I won't get up to anything naughty."

Ratchet shook his head. "That's not what I mean."

The human girl frowned. "Then what did you mean?"

The medic reached over, plucked the girl from the table, then set her down on the ground. "You can't even reach the Ground Bridge lever," he said, transforming into vehicle mode and opening his door. Alice sighed as she got in, shut the door, and put her seatbelt on. "So the others are just going to have to wait until I return." He drove away from the base then, leaving it completely devoid of life.

And mere seconds later, an emergency beacon went off.


	22. Chapter 21

"Come in, base!" Bulkhead roared for what had to be the fiftieth time as he sheltered behind the wall of an abandoned, decrepit building. Wheeljack had been injured, as the two had been set upon by Decepticons almost as soon as they'd finished their scouting mission and had been about to request a bridge back to base. Now, they were trying to maintain what little cover they could, which wasn't easy considering that Wheeljack was leaking energon profusely. "Scrap!" Bulkhead cursed as he once again found that nobody would pick up. "Jackie, you holding up?" Bulkhead asked as he turned to the one he considered a brother, and the white Wrecker nodded.

"Yeah, but I really could use some patching up," he said, his voice little more than a pained growl. Bulkhead nodded, but there was nothing more that he could say. Instead he peered around the corner of the old building the two 'Bots were hiding behind, and he noticed that the Vehicons were closing in at a rapid rate. When he informed Wheeljack of this, the Wrecker grunted and said, "Megatron's really stepped up his game."

The olive green former Wrecker nodded in agreement. "Yeah… he's been attacking us far more often," he admitted, before changing one of his servos into a blaster and firing at the approaching Decepticon troops. He managed to eliminate a number of them, but more just seemed to appear from nowhere, and this caused Bulkhead to growl in frustration as he tried, yet again, to get in contact with the Autobot base. But, like his previous attempts, nobody picked up, and his growl turned into a low roar of anger.

Suddenly the two Wreckers heard the sound of electricity, and Bulkhead peered out to see many of the Vehicons scorched and on the ground, twitching and convulsing as electrical currents wracked their body. Upon closer inspection, the olive green bot soon figured out who had electrocuted the Decepticon troops; Ultra Magnus was standing on the cliff-face, his EMP hammer in hand, his optics trained on the stilling Vehicons. Then he jumped down and, returning his weapon to his personal subspace, he walked over to the hiding Wreckers.

"Are you two well?" he asked. Hearing an unamused grunt from Wheeljack, however, made Ultra Magnus look over and immediately take his words back. "I will take that as a no," he said. Then he attempted to make contact with the Autobot base, but just like Bulkhead, the lieutenant got absolutely no answer. This caused him to sigh. "We very well cannot drive back, not with Wheeljack in this condition."

"Not to mention," the injured Wrecker groaned, "That we're nowhere near the base."

Ultra Magnus nodded. "Indeed," he said, just as a comm was patched through to his comm line. The Autobot warrior frowned as he pressed a finger to his audio processor and said, "Ultra Magnus speaking."

"_It's Arcee_," the lieutenant heard, and immediately he frowned. "_We have a situation, sir; Bumblebee is injured, and I can't get in contact with the base_," she said, and his frown grew.

"You are not the only ones," he informed the femme. "Wheeljack is injured, and Bulkhead and I have attempted to get into contact with the base with little success." He shook his head, although Arcee couldn't see the gesture. "Have you attempted to make contact with anyone else?"

"_Yes, sir, I tried to contact Optimus. He didn't answer_," she said, and this caused Ultra Magnus to stiffen, alarmed. He turned to Bulkhead and Wheeljack, who were giving him the same look he was giving them. "_The same with Vesper. I get static with both of them_."

Ultra Magnus shook his head. "Have you attempted to contact Ratchet directly?"

"_Negative, sir_," she said, and Ultra Magnus sighed.

"Stay where you are. I will contact the doctor. Is that understood?" he asked, and after Arcee confirmed that she would do as ordered, the lieutenant cut off the comm line and immediately switched it to Ratchet's frequency.

Alice, Miko, Jack and Raf were all conversing when Ratchet's comm link started to beep, and Ratchet shushed them before answering it. "Ratchet speaking," he said, wondering who had contacted him.

"_Doctor, where are you?_" Ultra Magnus asked, which caused all of the children to share a silent look of confusion. "_We require an immediate Ground Bridge!_"

"I'm pulling into the base now," Ratchet said just as he pulled in and stopped in the main foyer of the base. The humans immediately got out before Ratchet transformed and strode swiftly over to the Ground Bridge control mechanism, typing in Ultra Magnus' coordinates and pulling the lever down.

Immediately a swirling green vortex opened before Ultra Magnus, Wheeljack and Bulkhead, and the lieutenant nodded to Bulkhead before striding over, helping the fallen Wrecker to his feet, and helping him into the vortex. Bulkhead ran in afterwards, and the bridge closed as the three found themselves in the base. Then Ratchet set in Arcee's coordinates and opened a bridge for them, only for Bumblebee to limp in with the two-wheeler's help. As the bridge closed after those two, Ratchet went to open another bridge, setting it for Optimus' and Vesper's coordinates, but he was stopped by Bulkhead.

"We can't get in contact with them," he said, which made Ratchet's optics widen fearfully. "If you open a bridge, we might find ourselves in the midst of a surprise attack."

"That means nothing!" Alice exclaimed, and everyone looked down at the one-armed human girl. "They could be in danger and desperately hoping that someone will come and help them!" She shook her head and placed her singular hand on her hip. "And if you don't investigate, you might never know."

Ratchet scowled. "I know that, Alice, but it would be foolish to go and walk right into a trap!" He shook his head. "We're already ridiculously outnumbered!"

"Stop fighting!" Raf suddenly yelled, and everyone looked over at him. He gestured to Bumblebee and Wheeljack, who were sitting on the medical tables and watching the others with pained expressions. "We already have two bots down, Alice. We can't afford to lose more, especially considering that there's a small chance that Vesper and Optimus have just had their comm lines blocked."

Miko nodded. "Yeah, they could just be below ground or something," she exclaimed, and Alice's blue eyes flashed with realisation before she looked down at the ground and mumbled an apology.

Jack sighed. "Yet we still have to find out what happened to them, somehow."

Ratchet sighed and nodded. However, he said nothing more about the matter; instead he headed over and examined his two patients. Wheeljack's wound was easily treatable – as he only had one, on the lower abdomen – but Bumblebee was absolutely covered in gashes, which were all oozing energon. After a few inquiries, the medic soon figured out that the Decepticons had surprise-attacked them; Ultra Magnus was currently the only one other than Ratchet himself that had not been attacked by Megatron's forces. This concerned the medic, but he didn't voice his thoughts as he patched the two injured bots up and advised them to take it easy.

Hours passed with no contact from both Optimus and Vesper, and as time went on the rest of Team Prime became more and more concerned. As the hours passed, the others headed to bed, and Ratchet felt fearful for the safety of the Prime and his sparkmate as he headed for his own berth. Alice had gone to sleep much earlier, and when Ratchet walked into his room he found her curled up – cocooned in her blanket – next to his headrest, and as he lay down next to her he felt a small, nervous frown appear on his face.

He prayed to Primus that Vesper and Optimus were alright. And as he drifted off into sleep, he couldn't help but think that the two were in a situation they just could not handle…

And he was horribly, horribly right.

Vesper was lying against the ground, agonising pain shooting up her backstrut. Nearby, Optimus was fighting for the both of them against a huge wave of Vehicons, although it was clear to the femme that her sparkmate was becoming more and more exhausted by the second. She tried to push herself to her feet, but as another sharp burst of pain ran through her back, she cried out and collapsed to the ground yet again.

"Vesper, do not try to move!" Optimus said, his voice filled with fearful concern about his femme's health and wellbeing. "You will only—urk!" He was cut off as a Vehicon shot him close to the spark chamber, but he barely faltered. Driven by the urge to protect Vesper, Optimus fought on… and, at the same time, wished that they hadn't gotten stuck in a battle that was taking place in an underground mining chamber.

Getting back to his pedes, Optimus fought long and hard, until finally no more Vehicons seemed to appear from nowhere. Panting heavily, the Prime slowly strode over to his femme and knelt down next to her. She looked weakly up at him and smiled, agonised, and Optimus sadly frowned down at her in response.

"We are stuck down here," Vesper quietly noted, and Optimus nodded grimly as he sat down and gently took her servo in his own. "You should go to the surface and try to contact base."

Optimus shook his head. "I will not abandon you, not while you are in this condition." He shook his head. "But… you are in need of Ratchet's assistance…" He looked away, biting his lip, only looking back down at the femme when she squeezed one of his fingers.

"Optimus, I… will be fine," she said, wincing as a particularly bad spike of pain ran through her back. "Just go above, try to contact base… for me." She looked into the Prime's optics as she spoke and smiled weakly, and after a few moments of hesitation, Optimus sighed and nodded, standing and walking away. As soon as he was gone, Vesper immediately began to feel claustrophobic, vulnerable and scared; she was in the open, defenceless and injured. It was dark, and the walls seemed to be closing in on her. Closing her optics only served to make her more frightened, so she refrained from doing that, instead wishing that Optimus would return as soon as he was able.

The Prime returned soon after, but the grim look on his face indicated to Vesper that there was something wrong. He confirmed that minutes later when he told her that the entrance to the mine had been blocked, and that he was unable to get into contact with any of the others. The femme felt her spark beat frantically, and she whimpered as another jolt of pain went up her backstrut.

"Optimus…," she whimpered as the Prime sat down next to her and took her servo in his own again. "I am afraid…"

Optimus bit his lip before nodding sadly. "I… I too am afraid," he admitted, and as he squeezed her hand, he wondered if they would be saved by their Autobot comrades…

Or if they would be found by more Decepticons first.


	23. Chapter 22

Days had passed, and Ratchet was getting increasingly worried. Optimus and Vesper had still not contacted the rest of Team Prime, and while everyone was trying to go about with their daily activities, they were finding it incredibly hard. Raf, normally a perfect student at school, almost failed a test due to his worrying, but he managed to scrape by. Miko was abnormally quiet, and Jack kept being late for shifts at work. Alice barely spoke to anyone, and even gave Ratchet the unintentional silent treatment. Not that the medic could have cared too much at that point; he just wanted some sort of contact with the two missing Autobots, to know that they were still alive. Many a time he'd considered opening a Ground Bridge to their last known coordinates, but he'd stopped himself when he recalled the multitude of Decepticon attacks that had been happening of late.

"Ratchet," Bulkhead sighed, and the doctor looked over at him to see that the olive green bot had a worried expression on his face that was almost identical to Ratchet's own. "We can't sit around and wait any longer. One of us has to go and look for them."

Ratchet looked away, knowing that Bulkhead was right. "I'm… sure they'll contact us soon," he said, not even believing himself as he spoke. This caused the former Wrecker to scowl as he strode over and grabbed Ratchet's shoulder, to which the medic looked back at him.

"You keep saying that, yet it's been five days!" he roared, and Ratchet flinched away.

"Ratch, Bulk's right," Alice murmured, and the medic looked down at his human charge. "They could be seriously injured and unable to move," she said, making Ratchet flinch again, "Or they could be trapped, desperately in need of our help."

She had no idea how right she was. As Ratchet finally relented and strode over to the Ground Bridge control system, Vesper and Optimus were sitting in the mine shaft that they'd been trapped in. Vesper's back was paining her even more now, and Optimus was barely conscious. His wounds from five days ago had been continually leaking energon, and now there was almost nothing left. The only thing keeping his spark from joining the Well of All Sparks was the knowledge that, if they were attacked again, he was the only thing standing in between his fallen sparkmate and the Decepticons.

"Optimus," Vesper croaked, and Optimus' tired eyes opened and focused on her as much as he could. "Do not… sleep…," she managed to choke out, her voice raspy and saturated with agony. "They… will come… soon…"

"You said that… five days… ago," Optimus groaned, his breath coming in small gasps. "But… we must… hold out… until they arrive…"

He wasn't aware that, on the surface above the very chamber that the two were in, a swirling green vortex had opened and the rest of Team Prime were stepping out. Alice had, in her backpack, the Ground Bridge remote control just in case there were Decepticons hanging around and the Autobots needed a quick escape route.

"It looks like there's been a cave-in," Wheeljack said as he pointed towards the blocked entrance of a nearby mine shaft. Immediately each bot and every human knew that, somewhere inside that blocked mine, Optimus and Vesper were awaiting rescue. One, if not both of them, was probably hurt, and Ratchet knew that it was absolutely imperative that Team Prime find their missing allies as soon as possible. They walked over to the blockage, and Wheeljack decided to take matters into his own hands; he pulled his grenade from his hip, looked at the others, and said, "This should clear it." Then he set the timer on the explosive, lodged it between some of the rocks, then turned tail and ran behind a nearby rock. The others followed suit, and soon enough an explosion wracked the ground.

When the smoke caused by the grenade going off cleared, everyone noticed that most of the rocks had been destroyed, and those that hadn't had been flung away from the cave's entrance. Wheeljack grinned at the others only to receive a condescending look from Ultra Magnus, who disapproved of the Wrecker style of doing things, but nothing was said… at least, not by the group who'd blown open the mouth of the mine shaft.

Optimus had been startled back into reality by the sound of the explosion, and immediately he was on his feet, his servos replaced by blasters, looking around for any sign of Decepticons. When he saw nothing, he frowned, then looked over at Vesper, whose eyes were wide with fear. "Do not fear. I will protect you with all of my spark," he declared, his eyes still glancing warily around.

Vesper weakly smiled up at the Prime. "Thank you," she breathed. "But I do not believe that we are in any danger."

Optimus sat down next to his sparkmate and frowned. "What… do you mean?" he asked, cocking his head to the side. "Are you certain that we are under no threat?"

Vesper would have nodded, but she was unable to. Instead, her smile widened. "Yes, I am sure." Her eyes flickered up so that she was gazing at the roof. "I would know the sound of Wheeljack's grenades anywhere."

Optimus looked up as well, then he smiled and nodded. "Very well. We shall wait here for one of them to find us." He took her servo in his own and squeezed gently.

A chamber above them, the other members of Team Prime were dividing into groups. Miko, Jack, Raf and Alice were to remain in the first chamber of the mine shaft, which displeased the two girls, but when Ratchet mentioned the possibility of a cave-in that would quite possibly seal all oxygen out and eventually cause the four to suffocate, all arguments that they'd thought of left their minds. Then Ultra Magnus asked everyone to head off in different directions, leaving Arcee with the children.

Ratchet headed down further into the mine, and soon enough he found himself near pools of dried energon. Immediately he knelt down, trying to determine how old the energon was, and he soon discovered that the substance had been spilled less than a week ago. _Five days…_ He stood then and continued his search, his hope of finding them renewed over and over again as he found more energon… but his fears also grew along with his hopes. _What if this energon… belongs to Vesper or to Optimus?_ he thought to himself, biting his lip worriedly. _What if I'm too late?_

He soon stumbled upon the chamber that Vesper and Optimus were in, but initially he didn't see the two of them. He was too horrified by the amount of energon that had been spilled in this room, and he didn't see Optimus stand as he wondered exactly how much of it was the energon of his comrades.

"Ratchet?" Optimus said, his voice weak, and Ratchet almost jumped out of his plating as he whipped around to face the swaying Prime. Then his eyes widened as he saw the gashes that covered Optimus, and the dull look in the Prime's eyes. However, there was a smile on the weak bot's face as well, one that comforted the medic. "You… found us," he said, stumbling and falling to his knees. Ratchet was over at Optimus' side in an instant and stopped the Prime from falling onto his face.

"Easy, easy," Ratchet said, then looked over and spotted the unmoving scarlet femme. His eyes widened as he spotted the horrific damages to her back, and saw the sparks flying every so often. He looked down at Optimus, who was taking short, sharp breathes, and the field medic gently laid the Prime on the ground. "You rest now; I will attend to Vesper."

"Her… backstrut… is damaged… She… cannot move," Optimus gasped, his dull eyes flickering as he lost consciousness. Ratchet realised that Vesper was not the only one in need of urgent medical assistance, and he pressed his lips together in a despairing grimace before nodding.

"Thank you for telling me this, Optimus," he said, then looked up just as he heard footsteps. He saw Ultra Magnus appear at the door of the chamber, and the medic immediately summoned him over and got him to take Optimus back to the children so that they could bridge him back to base and put him on life support, which he quite obviously needed. Ultra Magnus said nothing, instead nodding to the medic – whose orders surpassed even Optimus' in medical matters – and gathering the Prime before heading off towards the chamber where the children were.

This allowed Ratchet to run over to Vesper. Immediately the femme locked eyes with him and gave the medic a pained smile, then winced as another stabbing pain ran through her back. "Hello, Doctor," she said.

"Epp epp epp epp!" Ratchet growled, waggling a finger at her. "You save your strength and let me check your back." Vesper was about to say something more, but she wisely listened to the medic and instead shut up. She bit her lip as she felt him poking around at her damaged backstrut, and a few times she had to resist the urge to cry out as he picked at a few parts of the strut. When he finally finished his examination, Vesper heard the medic groan in frustration and despair, and then he said, "Vesper, I… I'm sorry."

The femme's eyes widened. "For what?" she asked, her voice quivering in terror.

Ratchet slowly shook his head, although the femme couldn't see the gesture. "Taking into consideration the damages to your back… you may never regain full use of your limbs ever again."

Vesper began to panic. "You mean to say… I could become a quadriplegic?"

"Semi-quadriplegic," he corrected, but his tone indicated that he didn't feel any better saying that than if he'd told her she'd become a complete quadriplegic. "If this had occurred on Cybertron… well, I could find a hospital and patch you up, but…" He looked away, his throat feeling like it had something blocking it. "Here, I can't help you. Not on Earth."

Vesper felt like crying as her mouth set into a thin, hard line. "I see," she said, her voice strained and upset. "Thank you for being honest with me, Doctor. It makes my… diagnosis a little easier to bear." She was being completely truthful as she spoke, and Ratchet felt a little better about himself.

Suddenly he heard a noise, and he turned to see Bulkhead, Wheeljack and Bumblebee walking into the chamber. They were looking right at him, and their eyes were wide as they regarded the crippled Vesper and the despondent-looking doctor. "Whoa, what… what happened?" Wheeljack gasped, momentarily stunned into silence seeing his former charge in such a bad way.

"We were attacked… by Decepticons," Vesper managed to say as another shooting pain went up her back. "Optimus and I tried to fight them off, but…" If she had been capable of shaking her head, she would have. "I turned my back to them – something that I should never have done, I realise that now – and soon got shot dead in the middle of the back. A Decepticon, somehow, had managed to sneak up on me, and shoot me at point-blank."

Wheeljack growled and clenched one of his servos, but did nothing more. Instead, he looked at Ratchet and asked, "Hey, Doc, how're you going to move her?"

The medic growled, despising the nickname that Wheeljack referred to him by. "With your help, I can carry her up to the chamber where we left the kids." He shook his head, then noticed that Wheeljack was leaving. "Hey, where are you going?" the medic asked, confused, but the Wrecker just shook his head.

"I… can't watch this. I don't want to see her in this condition," he explained before leaving. Ratchet sighed, but said nothing more; he knew there was naught he could do to convince the Wrecker to come back.

Bulkhead frowned and looked over at Vesper, who was smiling weakly at all of them. "Can we move her at all?" he asked, looking back at the doctor. "I mean, if we damage her back anymore—"

"I am aware of the consequences," Ratchet scowled, and Bulkhead stiffened as Bumblebee beeped something. Ratchet looked over at him and nodded. "Yes, Bumblebee. We have to get her out of here." He looked down at Vesper. "I'm sorry, but—"

"I understand the possible consequences," Vesper declared, her eyes determined as she met with the medic's own optics. "And I am willing to accept them, should they become reality."

Ratchet flinched, not liking how she had already accepted any sort of consequence should something go wrong, but he said nothing as he nodded. He turned to Bulkhead then and asked, "Can you get the stretcher out of my backpack?" as he motioned to the large pack that was attached to his upper back.

"There's a stretcher in there?" Bulkhead asked, shocked. When Ratchet nodded, the olive green bot asked, "How does it even fit in there?"

"Personal subspace?" Ratchet said, turning to look at the bot and raising an eyebrow, sounding annoyed and stupefied at Bulkhead's question. The former Wrecker, after scratching his head and averting his eyes nervously, did as the medic asked and pulled the stretcher out before handing it to Ratchet. Then the medic instructed Bulkhead and Bee to hold one end of the stretcher each before kneeling down next to Vesper. "This may hurt," he said, but the femme only looked at the doctor with understanding in her eyes.

Lifting the femme into the stretcher was difficult for Ratchet. He didn't want to cause Vesper any more pain that she was already in, but he didn't know how to do that. He eventually asked Bulkhead and Bee to set the stretcher down and give him a hand, which they did. The three of them slowly picked the femme up, and while horrible jolts of agony shot up her damaged backstrut, she didn't complain, only wincing every so often as they carried her over slowly. Then the three, on Ratchet's orders, laid the femme down on her stomach on the stretcher.

"Now, we have to be careful when we carry this," Bulkhead said to Bee, who nodded and chirped about something. Bulkhead nodded in agreement as he and his yellow companion picked up the stretcher, Ratchet watching nervously. "That's right; we can't afford to drop the stretcher," he said as they began to carry Vesper back to the children so that she could be bridged back to base, and so that Ratchet could begin reparations.

When they finally got to the chamber the children were in, the three bots with Vesper noticed that each of the humans was sitting in the centre of the room. Arcee was standing near an open Ground Bridge, her blasters active, and her eyes widened as she saw Vesper's condition. However, she said nothing as Bulkhead and Bee carefully carried the injured femme into the bridge.

"Is… she ever…" Arcee trailed off as Ratchet looked away, squeezing his optics shut. Hearing Arcee speak, the children stood and walked over, with Alice's face growing worried as she saw the expression on Ratchet's.

"I doubt that I'll be able to fix her with the limited supplies I have," Ratchet said, his voice low and pained as Alice walked over and placed her singular hand on his leg. He looked down at her, and their eyes met before he glanced away and sighed. "We best be off; I need to do what I can." He stepped into the Ground Bridge then, leaving everyone else staring after him for a few minutes before they followed. Alice could tell that something was wrong with Ratchet as she entered the swirling green vortex, and she had a feeling she knew _exactly_ what was bothering him…

He believed that, no matter how much he tried to help, Vesper would never recover.


	24. Chapter 23

By the time Wheeljack returned to base, Ratchet had done as much as he could for Vesper's back. Now, she and Optimus were sleeping on separate medical berths, with the Prime on life support and the femme unable to move. Ratchet was grateful for one thing, however; Vesper had movement in both of her arms, which indicated that she wasn't a quadriplegic, or even a semi-quadriplegic. However, there had been no indication that she could even more – let alone feel – her legs, which made the medic quite disheartened.

"Where've you been?" Bulkhead asked quietly as Wheeljack walked over to him, but the white Wrecker simply shook his head sadly and refused to answer, looking over at Vesper with a miserable expression on his face. Bulkhead, realising that he wasn't going to get an answer from his friend, just put his servo on Wheeljack's shoulder and said, "She'll be fine. Ratchet did the best he could."

Wheeljack scowled angrily. "Well it's not good enough!" he hissed, not realising that his voice had been loud enough for everyone to hear. Ratchet stiffened and clenched his servos. "It's obvious that she's never going to walk again!" the Wrecker growled, and the medic looked away, gritting his teeth and forcing his emotions down. He felt like screaming at Wheeljack, yet he also felt like running away and crying. He had done what he could, and he already knew that it wasn't enough. But to hear it out loud? It hurt him worse than anything he'd ever felt before.

"Wheeljack!" Ultra Magnus scowled, causing the Wrecker to turn to the furious lieutenant. "You are out of line," the warrior hissed, his optics narrowing, but Wheeljack's scowl never changed. Instead he crossed his arms over his chassis and glared at Ultra Magnus.

"For what?" he scowled. "Speaking the truth?"

Ultra Magnus said nothing in response to this. Instead, the lieutenant pointed to the upset medic, who was looking away from everyone, including Alice, who was now desperately trying to get Ratchet's attention. Wheeljack looked over, then seemed to finally realise the consequences of his words, and he immediately regretted saying what he had.

But the damage had been done. Ratchet, ignoring all attempts Alice made to get his attention, turned on his heel and stormed off, leaving his sleeping patients alone with the others. He stormed to his own room, opened the door, then stepped into his quarters and over to his berth as the door closed behind him. As he sat down, he buried his face in his servos. He couldn't believe that Wheeljack had said what he had so openly. Ratchet knew that he hadn't been able to do much, but for someone else to believe that it wasn't enough? The medic couldn't remember the last time he'd been so wounded by such a thing.

"Nyah!" he heard suddenly, and Ratchet looked up to see Alice worming her way through his slightly ajar door, and she appeared to be stuck. In all other circumstances, the medic would have smiled and would have gone to help, but in this case he didn't move and he looked away. Alice didn't expect him to help, either; she knew that something was bothering him, and she knew that it was what Wheeljack had so thoughtlessly said.

When she finally managed to get through the tiny gap she'd managed to force open, the door closed and she walked over to her guardian. He looked down at her, mouth set in a thin line, and stonily asked, "Is there something you want, Alice?"

The girl nodded. "Just want to chat. Help me up?" she asked, and after a few moments of deliberation, Ratchet leaned down and held out his hand so that she could crawl onto it, then gently tipped her onto the berth so that she was sitting next to him. "Ratch," she said softly, putting her hand on his leg, "I have no idea how you're feeling right now, but—"

The medic furiously shook his head. "Don't tell me that it's alright, Alice, because it's not." He looked away from her. "If I had more tools or even a triage kit… I could do a lot more for both of them. But I can't help them anymore than I have, and it's not good enough."

Alice scowled. "Don't say that!" she exclaimed, removing her hand from his leg and instead using it to point at him, which caused him to look back at her. "You did all that you could for them!" Her face was pulled into a furious scowl, one that Ratchet didn't like seeing. "I hate it when people think they're not good enough or they didn't do enough when they did!" Alice screamed, and Ratchet flinched. Then he realised that Alice wasn't just talking about him when she'd said that; there was something else there.

"Alice, you speak so though… something else has happened, something similar," he said, frowning, and as Alice buried her face in her hand, Ratchet knew that he was correct. "Who… who else said that they weren't good enough?" he asked.

The girl shook her head, then looked up at him, tears running down her cheeks. "Don't try to make this about me!" she sobbed, but Ratchet refused to let it go that easily.

"Look, Alice, something about my… lack of faith in myself is bothering you. I care for you, more so than I care for myself. You _have_ to tell me what's wrong," he said, reaching down and gently touching her with his fingertip. Alice looked away, initially not wanting to tell him, but she turned back when he said, "Come to think of it, remember when I asked you what you would call killing yourself?" He shook his head as Alice opened her mouth to speak. "I never asked you why you seemed so… upset when you told me the word."

"It's—" she went to say, but Ratchet cut her off.

"Don't tell me it's nothing."

This caused her to look away and sigh sadly. "Do you really want to know?" she asked, not looking at her guardian. She didn't wait for his response. "I… I once had an older brother. Josh, his name was. He was my everything; the one who cared for me, protected me, listened to me when I was sad… He was there for me when Mum and Dad weren't." She shook her head as more tears began to run down her cheeks. "One day, the day after my tenth birthday… Josh had been depressed for about five months, yet he still put aside everything that could have made him happy… for me." She turned to look back at Ratchet, who was listening intently, biting his lip. "I remember going to go find him after my parents had beaten me. He hadn't left his room at all that day – the night before, he'd not come out for dinner – but I would have never thought…" She turned away, squeezing her eyes shut, her throat closing up.

"Never would have thought what?" Ratchet prompted.

Alice shook her head. "I never would have thought that he… would have killed himself."

Ratchet stiffened. "Wh-What?" he choked out, horrified.

Alice nodded. "Yeah… and I had to cut him down." She sighed. "For years after, I believed that it was because he didn't want to take care of me anymore… but then I found his suicide note. In it, he said that he loved me, that he felt that I needed better, and that there was someone coming to take me away from our parents. He killed himself because he didn't think he was good enough to take care of me, to let me do all the things that I would have wanted to later in life!" She looked up at Ratchet. "That's why I despise it when people say that they 'could have done better' or that they're 'not good enough'!"

Ratchet was speechless. He couldn't think of anything to say, so he turned away and tried to collect his wild thoughts. He listened as Alice quietly sobbed, and he felt his spark throb painfully within its chamber.

Finally he managed to choke out, "Alice… I… I'm sorry."

"For what?" Alice sobbed.

"I… I don't know what else to say," the medic sheepishly admitted. "I just… I can't believe you went through that…" He shook his head. "Losing a sibling is not something I can say I've experienced. I can't even imagine what it's like."

"But can you see what I'm saying?" Alice abruptly asked, and again Ratchet was stunned into silence. He mutely shook his head, and Alice sighed. "I'm saying that if you give up, if you say that you're not good enough, then _you never will be good enough_."

Human and bot alike fell silent, letting Alice's words sink in. Ratchet was stunned by the magnitude, the raw power, of her sentence, and he couldn't even begin to comprehend it. But he knew that they were true; he could see that now. So it was with great difficulty that he said, "How do you think I can help Vesper and Optimus even more?"

Alice frowned. She'd not been expecting such a question. However, she didn't let Ratchet catch her off-guard like that so easily. "Somehow, we need to get to Cybertron. You mentioned something about a triage kit?"

Ratchet looked absolutely dumbfounded. "How do we get to Cybertron though?!" he exclaimed. "The Ground Bridge is barely able to get into—"

"Ultra Magnus has a ship. We'll 'borrow' it." The human girl smugly looked up at the medic, who gave her a horrified look.

"I'm not stealing a ship!"

"It's not stealing, it's borrowing without permission."

Ratchet shook his head. "I don't care. I'm not taking Ultra Magnus' ship without his permission. Besides," he said, snorting and crossing his arms over his chassis, "It would take us years before we reached Cybertron."

Alice's face fell. "Then…"

"We're not getting to Cybertron. Not easily." He shook his head. "Unless you happen to have another silly plan in that head of yours."

Alice thought for a while, then grinned evilly. "Actually… I do," she said, before telling Ratchet her plan. When she was done explaining, Ratchet decided – probably against his better judgement – to go along with it, and the two went to chat to the only one that would be able to help them with their possibly stupid plan.

Ultra Magnus was keeping an eye on the other Autobots when Alice and Ratchet emerged from having their chat. The warrior was keeping a close eye on Wheeljack, who was keeping to himself, probably trying to figure out how to apologise to Ratchet. So he didn't notice when Alice and Ratchet strode over until the medic cleared his throat, causing the lieutenant to whip around and face them.

"Can I help you?" he asked, keeping his voice calm and neutral.

Ratchet sighed. He didn't want to ask what he was about to, but he knew that – unless he wanted Vesper to be permanently crippled – he had no real choice. "We need your help."

Ultra Magnus raised an eyebrow. "For… what?"

Alice grinned. "For taking a Space Bridge from the Decepticon forces, sir!"


	25. Chapter 24

Ultra Magnus stared at the two, absolutely bewildered, before shaking his head and coming out with, "Absolutely not." He turned his head, looking down at Ratchet's two sleeping patients, then faced the two and asked, "Why would you even think for a moment that I would help you with something so foolish?"

Alice groaned. "Because we need your help!"

This caused the warrior to raise an eyebrow. "That gives me no reason to aid you."

Ratchet sighed. "Ultra Magnus, please, you _must_ help us." He walked over and put his servo on Ultra Magnus' arm. "Without your assistance…" He looked over at Vesper and Optimus, his face falling when he gazed upon them. Then he turned back to Ultra Magnus and said, "Optimus will die, and Vesper will never move again."

This caused the stony warrior to stiffen. He slowly looked down at the unconscious duo that he was standing near, and his spark twinged with grief and pain. He didn't want to see the two in the condition they were in, and was willing to even give his own spark to see them both well again. After all, Optimus Prime was the last hope for the Autobot cause, and without Vesper, Optimus would be broken and hopeless.

He eventually sighed and looked back at Ratchet and Alice, who were giving him pleading looks. Then he looked around at the others, who were all chatting amongst themselves. They didn't seem to be aware that Ratchet and Alice were planning something so foolish, and for that, Ultra Magnus was incredibly grateful. It was sheer folly that the two had even considered their dumb plan… but, as the warrior sighed and looked away, he knew that it was even worse of a decision to actually go along with it.

"Very well," he said after much deliberation. "I will… assist you." Then he shook his head. "But I cannot allow you to take my ship."

"H-Huh?" Alice whimpered. "Why not?" she whined.

Ultra Magnus crossed his arms over his chassis. "If we're taking a Decepticon Space Bridge, then it will be hidden underground. There is no room for a ship underground." He shook his head. "But, if we can lock the bridge onto Cybertron's coordinates, then it should be an easy matter for you two to… get what you need, without use of a ship."

Alice grinned and looked up at Ratchet. "Okay, so now what? What do we tell the others?"

Ratchet and Ultra Magnus shared a look before the medic shook his head at the human girl. "We're not telling them anything."

"Well, then we've already stumbled upon a problem," Alice sullenly said, putting her hand on her hip and looking away. "I need a spacesuit if I'm going to Cybertron."

"Scrap," Ratchet cursed under his breath. "The only human who has a spacesuit is… Jack," he remembered, looking over at the sixteen year old who was chatting to Arcee. The three devising the plan to head to Cybertron all shared a look of dread, realising that – in order to actually go through with their plan – Jack would need to be informed… or he would have to go along in Alice's place, which was probably a better option seeing as he'd been to Cybertron before.

"So, which one of us is going to ask?" Alice quietly said, looking back up at Ultra Magnus and Ratchet, who said nothing in return. Instead, they gave her a pointed look, and she groaned as she realised what they were saying. She was the one who needed the suit, so she was the one who was going to have to ask. "Well," she said, looking back over at Jack and steeling herself, "Here goes nothing…"

She walked over and tapped the boy on the shoulder. Jack immediately turned and smiled at her, then asked, "Hey, what's up?"

"I, uh, need to ask you something… so can we talk privately?" she asked, and Jack frowned, then gave Arcee a confused look before nodding to Alice. The two walked down the hall – with Alice trying to ignore the curious looks that Miko and Raf were giving the both of them, and Jack not caring either way – before stopping a fair few metres out of earshot from the others. "Can I, uh, borrow your spacesuit?"

Jack looked as shocked as Ultra Magnus had when Ratchet and Alice had explained their foolhardy plan. "Excuse me?" he asked.

Alice blushed and rubbed her shoulder. "I need to borrow your spacesuit."

Jack frowned, even more confused now. "But… but why?"

Alice sighed, not really wanting to reveal anything even though she knew that she had to. "Promise not to tell anyone?" she asked, and Jack – even though his confusion was growing – nodded. Alice immediately told him the details of Ratchet's and her plan, and his expression of incredulousness grew as she explained. When she was done, she fell silent, absolutely humiliated and unsure of what to say.

Jack scratched the back of his head. "Well," he said, but that was all that he managed to get out for a few minutes. Alice's embarrassment grew, and her cheeks flushed a bright scarlet as she looked away. Finally a sigh escaped Jack's lips before he said, "I guess I can lend it to you."

Alice's eyes widened and she whipped back around to face the boy. "R-Really?!" she exclaimed, a happy, wide smile appearing on her face. When Jack nodded, Alice squeeflailed (which was hard to do with one arm) and started jumping up and down. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she cried before jumping at him and wrapping her only arm around his neck.

"You're… urk… welcome!" Jack gasped, completely unable to breathe, and Alice – detecting the breathless tone in his voice – immediately stepped back and released him. Then she sheepishly scratched the back of her head as he gasped for air. "Anyway," he said when he recovered, "I'll go and get it for you." He turned on his heel and walked away, and Alice waited for a few minutes until Jack returned, spacesuit in hand, and handed it to her. She took it awkwardly, then nodded.

"Thank you so much," she said, before Jack nodded again and walked away. She immediately headed to where she stayed when she wasn't staying at her home, which happened to be Ratchet's room, and put the spacesuit somewhere where it was hidden from the view of others. Then she walked out and noticed that Ratchet was over near Optimus, his expression dark and fearful, and alarm bells immediately started to ring in the white haired girl's head. However, before she could walk over, she was stopped by Ultra Magnus putting his foot in front of her. "Hey, what—"

"Optimus' spark rate just faltered for the briefest of minutes," the warrior explained, his voice low as he cast his eyes in Ratchet's direction. "Now Ratchet is even more concerned, and it means that your plan will most certainly be coming to fruition very soon."

Alice looked over at Optimus, biting her lip as tears welled up in her eyes. Then she looked over at Vesper, who was still asleep. Ratchet had, to ease the femme's pain, put her in power-down, and she'd been in that state for some time.

"I guess we should start preparing for our little trip then," Alice murmured as Ratchet finally walked back over and shook his head at Ultra Magnus, who frowned in concern.

Ratchet looked down at his sad little human charge, then sighed. "Did you get what you needed?" he asked her, and she gave him a barely perceptible nod as an answer. Ratchet nodded sadly, then said, "Good. We'll leave tonight, then, under cover of darkness."

Ultra Magnus sighed. "Is this the right thing to do?" he questioned, speaking more to himself than to Alice or Ratchet, but Ratchet still shrugged.

"I don't know, Ultra Magnus, but…" He looked down at Alice, who was nervously rubbing her shoulder and wincing as she touched a particularly painful spot. "It's something that we have to do." He looked at his two patients, and tears would have welled up in his eyes if he was capable of producing them. He hated seeing anyone in this condition, and knew that it was absolutely imperative that he get to Cybertron and locate what he was looking for. Of course, he knew that he wasn't going to be going alone, but there was a part of him that didn't want Alice to accompany him. Partly it was because he didn't want her to be in harm's way, but also because he didn't want her to see Cybertron as it was now; a dead, barren, uninhabitable world.

When it was finally dark, and the others had gone to recharge for the night, the three – after Alice donned the spacesuit – departed from the base as quietly as they could, and drove to the location of a Decepticon mine that had, of late, been swarming with activity. When the three members of Team Prime got to it, they immediately saw that the mine was heavily guarded…

Too heavily guarded for a simple energon mine.

The three quickly took control of the mine, making use of the Magnus Hammer and Ultra Magnus' wealth of battle expertise, and soon enough they were standing before a Space Bridge. Alice was gazing up at it, amazed, but the two Autobots were used to seeing them.

"Alright," Ultra Magnus said as he returned his EMP hammer to his subspace and walked over to the control mechanism of the bridge. "You two will head to Cybertron; I will hold the bridge for as long as I am able to."

Alice looked back at the warrior, a frown on her face. "But—"

"No buts now," Ratchet said as the Space Bridge opened; it was a turbocharged version of the Ground Bridge, and the vortex swirled with more fury and strength. Alice looked at it and frowned, biting her lip, but said nothing as Ratchet walked towards it. She looked back at Ultra Magnus – who nodded in farewell – before stepping after her guardian and entering the bridge.


	26. Chapter 25

Alice had never dreamed of stepping foot onto another planet. As she touched the surface of Cybertron, she found herself looking around, her eyes wide and her mouth forming a small 'o'. In front of her, Ratchet was gazing around at the darkened Cybertron, his mouth set into a thin, hard line. He had never wanted her to see it, not while it was in this condition, but he didn't say that. Instead he turned to Alice and shook his head slowly. "Welcome to Cybertron."

"This is your home?" she asked, gazing around, then looking back at Ratchet only to notice that he'd transformed into vehicular mode and his driver's side door was open, waiting for her to get in. With a slightly miserable expression, the girl hopped in, and the door closed just as Ratchet drove off. "So where are we driving to?" Alice asked, curious to know where Ratchet was going, but the medic didn't answer for a brief moment.

Then he responded with, "We're heading to my old medical clinic."

Alice frowned. "Your old clinic?" she asked. If Ratchet had been capable of nodding, he would have. Instead, he satisfied himself by making an affirmative noise. "Ah," Alice said, then leaned back and looked out of the window, observing the surroundings as they raced by. She could see that many wars had taken place, and the planet was completely ravaged and destroyed. Much energon had been spilled, and Alice found herself wondering how many people Ratchet had saved… or had failed to save.

They drove for what seemed like hours, yet Ratchet soon confirmed that it had only been about half an hour, before they pulled up to an out-of-the-way medical clinic. As Alice stepped out, Ratchet transformed, and motioned to the old, decrepit husk of a building. "This was my old clinic," he said, seeming quite monotone and blunt. Alice looked up at him, but said nothing as he walked over and opened the door. Then he turned to her and said, "Come on. We have supplies to collect," before turning on his heel and walking inside. Alice bit her lip before following, and she soon found herself in the darkened, burnt out clinic.

Ratchet looked around, trying to stop himself from crying. He had had so many patients here, and so many interesting conversations. He wasn't much of a conversationalist and had had a reputation of being quite grumpy sometimes, but his medical knowledge – the top in his field, he'd been told many times – came cheap, which was good for those who couldn't afford to go to the clinics in Iacon, which were the best ones on Cybertron.

"Ratch?" Alice asked, and the medic looked down as she put her hand on his leg. "Is something wrong?"

Ratchet smiled sadly. "I would be lying if I said I didn't miss what I've experienced in this clinic," he said, turning back and looking around. His optics fell on something – it was the size of Alice's head, and it was rectangular, box-like – that was painted in his familiar red and white, and he grinned as he strode over to it. "Ah, my triage kit!"

"That's what you need?" Alice asked, her voice shocked. She couldn't believe that it was so small, yet so useful.

Ratchet nodded as he held it up. "This is just the condensed version; the kit itself is much larger, full of tools and invaluable medical supplies that I left behind when I departed Cybertron." He shook his head as his backpack slid open and he put the kit inside it. Then, as the pack closed, he looked around and said, "Now, I think I have some materials that I can use to help Vesper around here…" He walked around, sifting through the rubble and many a broken medical tool in order to find whatever he was seeking. Alice decided to help him by picking up whatever intact tools she could find, and Ratchet appreciated her help.

When he finally found what he was looking for, he held it up for Alice to see. It was a long, cord-esque thing, and Alice found herself frowning at it. "Wait, you're actually going to _replace_ her spinal cord?!"

Ratchet nodded as he placed the cord in his subspace. "Yes. It's possible… well," he said, looking Alice up and down, "It's possible for us Cybertronians. I don't know about humans." He shook his head. "In any case, I have what I came for. We best head back."

Alice nodded in agreement. "Hopefully Ultra Magnus managed to hold the bridge…" She looked nervously away.

Ratchet slowly shook his head before striding towards the door of the decrepit clinic. "Ultra Magnus is perfectly capable of holding a Space Bridge." He shook his head. "But we should still return soon; I don't know if my patients are okay, and as a medic I—"

"You have a duty of care," Alice finished for him, and Ratchet nodded before walking out of the clinic. The human girl followed to notice that he was back in vehicle mode, the door open yet again, waiting for her. She smiled softly before getting in and closing the door, and Ratchet drove off towards the area where the bridge had opened.

When they got there, they noticed that the swirling green vortex was still open, which was quite relieving to the both of them. However, when they drove through the portal, they found that something was different.

Ultra Magnus, hammer and all, was gone.

"Where's Ultra Magnus gone?" Alice whimpered as she got out of Ratchet and the bot transformed. His azure optics gazed around, carefully checking the surroundings for any differences. He didn't initially see anything out of the ordinary, but he didn't feel right. He felt endangered, unsafe, and knew that – no matter what his processor was telling him – there was something amiss, and deep in his spark he knew it. "Ratch?"

"Alice, we need to leave," the medic growled, turning the Space Bridge off, which closed the swirling green vortex and cut Cybertron off again.

"Why?" she asked as he transformed back into vehicular form, and she got in. As the door closed Ratchet lurched forward and raced off, making Alice shout in alarm… moments before gunfire hit the ground centimetres away from the medic's back tires. "Whoa!" Alice cried as Ratchet sharply turned a corner, and he soon found his way out of the mineshaft that the Space Bridge had been hidden in. Ultra Magnus had still not emerged or had not been found, which was highly concerning to Ratchet… but it wasn't as concerning as the fact that he was now being tailed by at least ten identical cars.

"Scrap," the doctor growled as he looked behind him using his mirrors, and he scowled. He couldn't call base, either; he, Alice and Ultra Magnus had executed this plan in secrecy, and calling base would cause the others to question _why_ they had gone to a Decepticon mine. His only hope was Ultra Magnus' return… and that came swiftly.

A Cybertronian truck – somewhat similar to the trucks on Earth – pulled up beside the Earth-style emergency vehicle, and Alice was extremely relieved to see him. The warrior transformed then, skidding to a stop in front of Ratchet and allowing him time to get back to base without being tailed, and summoned the Magnus Hammer to his hand.

"Wait, we're just going to leave him?!" Alice exclaimed, looking back at the hammer-wielding bot in horror as Ratchet drove further and further away.

"Alice, he's allowing us to escape, and he's strong; he'll survive." Ratchet sighed. "Trust me."

Alice was about to speak, but she decided against it. Instead she leaned back into the chair and looked out the window, watching as Earth's familiar landscape rushed past. She eventually got sick of her helmet and she attempted to remove, succeeding after many struggles. Life wasn't easy with just one arm.

When they finally got back to base, Ratchet pulled up and waited for Alice to get out before transforming back into robot mode and walked over to his patients. He turned to Alice and said, "Go get changed; I need to get to work on Vesper." Alice nodded and headed off as Ratchet drew Vesper out of her coma, and the femme – after slowly waking – looked drowsily over at the doctor.

"Doctor," she murmured, then winced as she felt the pain in her back for the first time in a while. "Do you… need something?"

Ratchet nodded. "I need to inform you that I will be performing another surgery on your back," he said, pulling the long cord that he'd retrieved from Cybertron from his subspace. "And this time, I hope for better results."

Vesper sleepily looked at the cord, then looked back up at Ratchet and smiled tiredly. "Very well, Doctor," she said, and Ratchet nodded before putting the femme back into stasis. Then he pulled his triage kit out from his subspace and set it down next to him. He opened it, a smile appearing on his face when he saw that most of his tools were intact and operable, and picked out the ones that would be the most beneficial in the surgery. Then he got to work. He opened up her back and looked at the damaged cord, wincing when he looked at it. It was almost completely undamaged, save for a large gouge that Ratchet had found himself unable to patch up, and the medic sighed as he started to remove the cord. He knew that, as soon as he removed it, he had precious little time to install the new one and reconnect the processor and spark chamber before Vesper offlined, but he also knew that – so long as he wasn't distracted at all – he would be able to do it with no issues.

He worked tirelessly, quickly removing Vesper's damaged cord and replacing it, reattaching every little cord where it needed to be attached. It took hours, and by that time, the sun was beginning to rise and everyone else was just beginning to walk out. Alice, who had gone to bed after getting changed mainly because she hadn't wanted to interrupt the doctor's work, was the first to come out, just as Ratchet was cleaning up and putting his tools away. The damaged cord that he'd removed was sitting on the medical table near one of the monitors, and Alice decided that she wanted a closer look at it.

"Hey, Ratch," she called, getting the medic's attention. He looked down at her and frowned. "Can I have a closer squiz at that?" she asked, pointing at the damaged cord, and Ratchet smiled before kneeling down and picking the human girl up. Then he placed her next to the cord, and she peered at it curiously. She took in the damages, including the ones that Ratchet had been able to repair, then looked up at the medic and said, "Woah."

The medic started to laugh as he walked over to Optimus. "Is that all you ca—" He cut himself off as his optics widened. The life support machine that the Prime was hooked up had failed. On a nearby screen that showed bodily functions, there was no processor activity… and no spark beat.

Optimus Prime had flatlined.


	27. Chapter 26

"NO!" Ratchet roared as he ran over and immediately looked at the life support machine, fear and horror in his shining optics. A shrill, continuous beeping noise was ringing through the base, making the medic's audio processors hurt, but he wasn't in the mood to care. He could hear footsteps heading towards him – the small pitter-patter of human feet and the large thuds of Cybertronian pedes – but he disregarded them as he pulled Optimus' spark chamber open. He immediately noticed that the spark was small, insignificant, and unable to keep energon flowing through Optimus' body. "SCRAP!" the doctor roared as he grabbed his triage kit and pulled some tools from it, then desperately got to work trying to save the Prime.

It was Alice who came up with a good idea. She watched as Ratchet desperately, futilely, tried to strengthen the Prime's spark, and an idea popped into mind that she prayed would work. "Ratch, you need a car battery!" she exclaimed, and the doctor glanced at her for the briefest of moments, returning to work just as the others ran out; they stopped dead when they noticed the situation. Alice, however, had no time to explain to any of them. Instead she turned to Bumblebee and said, "You're the fastest, yeah?"

Bee nodded and chirped something. Raf nodded and said, "Bee says that he is… and why you want to know."

Alice looked back at Optimus, who Ratchet was still trying to bring back. Then she looked at Bee. "We need to go get a few car batteries. Or Optimus will die." She looked pleadingly at the yellow and black speedster, who seemed miserable hearing her words. "Please."

He beeped something before nodding and transforming into his altmode – a yellow muscle car with black stripes – and opened his door, motioning her to get in. She scrambled in and clicked her seatbelt on as Bee closed the door and screamed off, passing the returning Ultra Magnus as the two departed. The returning lieutenant immediately knew that something had gone wrong, and as he drove in and transformed he saw what the issue was. He didn't say anything, however; there was nothing he could say.

Miko was hugging Bulkhead's head – she was sitting on his shoulder – and was whimpering. Jack and Arcee were looking sombrely at Ratchet and Optimus. Raf was sitting on the couch, just silently moping. Wheeljack and Ultra Magnus shared a look, and Wheeljack's face was filled with sadness and grief.

Vesper was still in stasis, but nobody knew that she was completely aware of the event. In her spark she felt empty, and while she couldn't open her eyes or speak, she still could send her prayers, although she was unknowing of whether they got to Optimus and Ratchet.

Meanwhile Alice and Bee had already gotten to a place where they could buy car batteries, and after much haggling, they managed to get at least three for sixty dollars, which was almost all the money Alice had been carrying on her person. Then, after she struggled and managed to put the three batteries in Bee's back seat, she got back into the front passenger seat and clicked her seatbelt on as Bee screeched away again, desperate to get back to base. Alice didn't wonder why, because she too wanted to return as quickly as possible.

Ratchet was becoming more and more desperate as he worked on. He was finding himself unable to keep Optimus' spark going, and it was shrinking more and more as he worked. "DON'T YOU DIE ON ME!" he roared frantically, and if he was capable of producing tears, they would have been causing his eyesight to blur. Optimus had the hope of all Autobots – no, all of Cybertron – resting on his shoulders, and while it was a heavy burden to carry, Ratchet knew that the Prime he was trying to save was the only one who could carry it. "SCRAP!" the medic screamed as he failed yet again to save Optimus, and then he scowled, "Don't you dare give up, Optimus Prime!"

"Ratchet!" Alice cried as Bumblebee pulled up and she tumbled out. He transformed, and was holding the three batteries in his hands. The medic whipped around as the girl said, "Hook Optimus up to one of these!"

Ratchet knew that he had no choice, so he nodded as Bee set one of the batteries down next to Optimus. Pulling some jumper leads from his subspace, Ratchet immediately hooked the Prime up to the battery, and soon enough Optimus' sparkbeat began to strengthen. This caused a relieved sigh from everyone, and inside of her mind, Vesper felt incredibly grateful that her sparkmate had been saved.

"That was a scare," Jack admitted after Ratchet had stabilised Optimus and had ensured that the jumper leads wouldn't detach. The medic, who was currently cleaning up, nodding in agreement, and then looked over at Vesper.

"I wonder if she could feel that," he mused to himself, not realising that Ultra Magnus had been close enough to hear.

"It is likely," he said just as quietly, and the medic turned to the lieutenant and frowned. "Sparkmates are rumoured to feel what their other half does."

The medic nodded, but said nothing more on the matter. Instead he turned to the children. "Aren't you all up a bit too early?" he asked, and they shook their heads.

"We were, about two hours ago," Raf said, yawning. "But now we should be heading to school." His voice was sleepy, and Ratchet frowned as he noticed that Miko and Jack were in a similar condition; Jack was swaying on his feet as if he was exhausted and Miko was drifting off already. Alice was sitting on the couch, and while she didn't need to go to school, she was still up far too early for Ratchet's liking.

"I do not think that it would be a good idea for you three to go to school," Ultra Magnus said, his voice gentle, and Raf was about to disagree, but the young human never got the chance as he collapsed in exhaustion and fell asleep where he'd fallen. Bee walked over, chirped something, and picked his charge up. Jack was a little stronger and managed to keep his eyes open until he sat down against the wall, and soon enough he had nodded off. Miko had already drifted off to sleep, and for her it was just a matter of making sure she didn't fall off of Bulkhead's shoulder.

Ratchet scratched his chin. "They're exhausted already?" he asked. "The day's barely started…"

"They must have been extremely worried for Optimus," Arcee mused as she looked over at her charge. "Perhaps we should call June."

Bulkhead frowned. "But then we'd have to call Miko's host parents and Raf's mum," he said, and everyone instantly realised the predicament they were in. The bots shared a look, all with identical expressions on their faces, and eventually Bulkhead sighed before gently prodding Miko with one of his fingers. "Miko, c'mon, you need to wake up. You have school."

The Japanese girl groaned as she blearily opened her eyes. "But Bulk…," she whined, "I don't want… to go…"

The olive green bot sighed. "Miko, you have to go," he said, projecting some finality into his voice. This caused the girl to groan again, but she managed to wake herself up, although it was obvious that she wasn't very functional. Arcee had a similar event with Jack, although he was less argumentative than Miko, but Bee had absolutely no luck with Raf. The twelve-year-old was dead to the world, and no matter how much he tried, the young Autobot could not wake him.

Jack, however, had a bit more success. He shook Raf and said, "Your mum will ground you again if you don't go to school," and Raf woke up seconds later, although he was just as lethargic as Miko and Jack. Bulkhead opted to take the kids to school, and everyone agreed on that, so he transformed, waited for them to get their gear and strap themselves in, then drove out of the base and towards Jasper.

The others all decided to go out on energon scouting missions. They all went to separate places, with Ratchet and Alice staying behind to keep an eye on the doctor's patients, and when Bulkhead eventually returned the medic sent him off as well. Alice and Ratchet didn't chat much, preferring to remain quiet and keep an eye on the barely stable Optimus, but when they did talk, the conversation was very brief and was absolutely devoid of any positivity.

A small groan distracted the both of them, and Ratchet looked over to see that Vesper was groggily opening her eyes. He immediately strode over and looked down at her, and she smiled up at him, clearly still in a semi-stupor. "D-Doctor," she said, in lieu of a greeting.

"How are you feeling?" Ratchet asked, and Vesper groaned again before closing her eyes. "Any better?"

"Yes… and no," she breathed, wincing. Ratchet, upon seeing the wince, began to panic slightly, but then he remembered that Vesper was most certainly going to be in a little bit of pain due to the surgery. "I… can feel my legs again," she said, and relief blossomed in the medic's spark. "But… Optimus…"

Ratchet shook his head. "There isn't much that I can do for him, I'm afraid…" He felt very depressed, saying that, as well as ashamed. However, he knew that – with medical matters – it was best to be brutally honest rather than give someone false hope.

Vesper smiled weakly. "I am sure that you have done all in your power," she managed to say, before she began to drift off again. Ratchet did not say anything more as the femme drifted back into the world of dreams. But as she did, the medic couldn't help but wonder what she was dreaming about…

_Vesper found herself standing in a very strange location. It was the very top of the Iacon Hall of Records, a place that she'd only been a few times before. She looked around, gazing at all of the many panels displaying information that hung around her._

_"__I am wondering," she heard Optimus say, and she whipped around to see him sitting near a computer, typing away on it and not looking in her direction, "Why my subconscious chose this place, of all places for us to meet." He stood, turned to her, and gave her a warm smile._

_Vesper wondrously looked around again. "This is your subconscious?" she asked, her cyan optics settling back on Optimus, who nodded. She found herself amazed by the clarity, by the detail that his subconscious had managed to give to the former place of his work. "This is amazing… but how am I here?" she asked, frowning curiously at him._

_Optimus shrugged. "Because I wanted you to be here." He shook his head as he strode over. "I believe that, because we are sparkmates, we have some sort of bond."_

_Vesper shook her head. "I always believed that it was merely a bond that allowed us to share emotions. But now," she mused, looking around again, unable to comprehend the detail of her surroundings, "I am not so sure."_

_Optimus shrugged again. "I am unsure of it myself," he said. Then he walked over and pulled the femme into a gentle hug. "But I am simply grateful that we can spend time together." He gazed down at her tenderly, and she regarded him with an equally tender look. Then he slowly leaned down and kissed her ever so carefully, and she melted into the kiss, returning it._

_When they broke away, Vesper felt like she'd lost something close to her, and judging from the expression on Optimus' face, he felt the same way. But she didn't tell him that. Instead, he released her and beckoned for her to follow, and in confusion, she did._

_Optimus led her through the corridors of Iacon, and Vesper found herself absolutely gobsmacked at how much detail the bot remembered. Everything was the exact same as she remembered, perhaps even better, but that wasn't even the most astounding part._

_The most astounding part was when he walked onto a balcony, and Vesper couldn't help but let out an astonished gasp as she took in the scenery. It was Cybertron as she remembered it before the war, before it had gone dark. She put a hand up, covering the 'o' that her mouth had formed, and looked over at Optimus with wide optics. "This is… beautiful," she whimpered, trying to fight the urge to cry._

_Optimus walked over and put an arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer to his body. "I always dream of this, you know," he said, his tone soft and warm. "Seeing Cybertron like this… is something I will always cherish."_

_Vesper nodded in agreement. "I concur," she breathed, smiling softly, sadly, as she gazed at the beautiful scenery before her. Then, after a brief, comfortable silence, the femme said, "I wish that, someday, we could stand here and look over Cybertron… for real."_

_Optimus looked down at her. "That would be nice," he said. "I would love that."_

_The femme smiled as she wrapped one of her arms around Optimus. "As would I." Then she felt herself struggling to breathe as Optimus leaned down and kissed her with a hunger, a passion that seemed desperate. It was as if he'd gone without her for too long and was unable to control himself for any longer. But she didn't care; she felt the same way he did. She could feel how he felt about her, somehow, and she wondered if he could feel how she felt._

_She felt his hands trailing her body, the lightest brush of his fingertips on her plating making her shiver. She felt him pull away from her lips, and she was about to complain until she noticed his expression. His hands had settled on her shoulders, and he looked upset as well as confused._

_"__What—?" she was about to ask, but then she noticed that her servo – resting on Optimus' chest – was transparent. Her optics widened, and she looked up at her sparkmate with a terrified expression. "Optimus, what—"_

_"__Someone is waking you up," he asked sullenly, then pulled her into a tight hug. "I do not want you to go…"_

_Vesper hugged him tightly back. "I do not want to leave you, either, but it appears that I must." Her tone indicated that she was, in no way, pleased with this decision, but both of them knew that it had to be so. "I will see you later?" she inquired as she started to fade even faster. Optimus nodded. Then, as she faded away and the world around her returned to darkness, she heard the Prime say a few, faint words._

_"__I love you."_


	28. Chapter 27

Vesper's eyes flickered open, and she noticed Ratchet standing next to her, his servo on her shoulder. It was obvious that he was the one who had woken her, pulled her out of her shared dream, and while that annoyed her she gave no voice to her thoughts. Instead, she smiled up at the doctor and said, "Good morning, Doctor."

Ratchet smiled in return. "It's afternoon, but that doesn't matter. You need to start your rehabilitation," he said, his smile falling, and Vesper frowned. "First, I'm going to have you sit up," Ratchet said abruptly, and it was clear that he was impatient to get her up and moving, to see if his surgery had gone well. She decided to oblige him, even though she was still in a little bit of pain, and attempted to sit up. After managing to do that with little difficulty, Ratchet nodded and jotted something down. "Well, this might go a little quicker than I previously believed. That's good," he said, a relieved smile popping onto his face.

Vesper looked over to see Alice snoozing on the couch. She smiled sadly, but turned her attention back to Ratchet and asked, "Where are the others?"

Ratchet, busy typing something down on a monitor, looked out of the corner of his optics back at the femme, and he shook his head. "They're all out, except for myself, you, Optimus, and young Alice over there." He looked over at the human girl affectionately, and smiled. Then he turned back to Vesper and frowned. "Now, you can still feel your legs, yes?" he asked, and Vesper tentatively nodded. Ratchet grinned. "Good. Now, I want you to attempt to stand."

Vesper blinked at him, stunned, but managed a nod. "Okay," she said, her voice small and nervous, and then she did as she'd been asked. She did manage it, but as soon as she put weight on her right foot, burning agony jolted up her leg and she cried out before collapsing. Ratchet immediately caught her, and the femme's pained cry woke Alice, who jumped off of the couch and looked around, worriedly. When she saw Ratchet helping Vesper back to the medical berth, she settled down a bit and walked over to the railing of the platform the couch was sitting on.

"What just happened?" she asked as Ratchet scanned Vesper's leg, and the medic – after completing his scan – turned back and frowned at his human charge.

"Her leg gave out on her," he said simply, then turned back to Vesper and asked, "Are you in any pain?"

The femme slowly shook her head. "Not anymore," she said, sadly looking down at the leg that had collapsed underneath her. "It just hurt when I put weight on it."

Ratchet frowned. "Did you feel the same pain in your left leg?" he asked, and his answer came in the mere shake of the head from Vesper. The medic frowned, shook his head, and sighed. He'd done all he could, and while movement had been restored to her legs, it was obvious that she only had full use of one of them. The other leg was absolutely useless, which was quite bad and disabled Vesper from walking anyway.

Alice sighed; even after replacing Vesper's spinal cord, the femme still couldn't walk, which was the entire reason Ratchet and Alice had braved Cybertron and its dangers in the first place. This made the girl feel quite sad, but she didn't voice this concern. Instead, she tried to be optimistic and said, "Hey, you'll be able to walk again. It might just take a while."

The girl's optimism gave Vesper hope, and she nodded. "Indeed, Alice. And I am willing to take however long I must," she said, smiling at the human girl's direction. Then she looked over just as the communication line went off, and Ratchet strode over and opened it to find that it was Ultra Magnus requesting a bridge. He immediately opened the bridge, and the warrior strode in.

As soon as he noticed that Vesper was awake, Ultra Magnus nodded and said, "Vesper."

"Sir," Vesper politely said in return. Then she turned to look up at Ratchet, who was again opening a bridge; this time, allowing Arcee, Bulkhead and Bumblebee to return, as they'd all met up. That left only Wheeljack to return, but alarmingly he never called in. The kids even called, but that was only to say that they weren't coming back for the night, as they were all exhausted and their parents were worried. That was fine by Ratchet, who didn't have the time to worry about them. Alice, after yet another call from her parents, sighed and was forced to leave (much to the medic's chagrin), and soon enough the base was completely devoid of human life.

Vesper continued to try and walk over and over again, but every time she tried, her leg collapsed agonisingly underneath her. That never stopped her, however; it was actually Bulkhead who confined her to the medical berth, saying that she shouldn't strain herself.

The femme sighed. "But I am useless like this!" she exclaimed.

Ultra Magnus, agreeing with Bulkhead, frowned and crossed his arms. "While that may be true," he stated, making the femme feel quite miserable, "It is only a temporary thing. You will heal in no time." He shook his head. "But if you force yourself to recover, you may do more damage than good."

Vesper was about to argue, but upon realising that the warrior was correct, she sighed and simply nodding in compliance. Then she looked over at Optimus, and frowned. There was another reason she wanted to recover, and that was to help Optimus. She believed that if she could do it, then he could as well, and she could assist him.

"I know that you want to help Optimus," Arcee suddenly said, and Vesper turned around to meet the other femme's eyes. "But if you don't recover, then he won't. Okay?"

It was almost as if Arcee had read Vesper's mind. The scarlet femme sighed and nodded in agreement, then looked back at her sparkmate. She prayed to Primus that Optimus would survive, and then she yawned. She hadn't realised how exhausted she was until that moment, and she looked over at the others. Ratchet, seeing this, requested that she get some rest, and she did so with a goodnight to the others.

Vesper's decision to sleep took Ratchet's racing mind off of her, and he soon found himself wondering where Wheeljack had gotten off to. When he voiced his thoughts to the others, even Ultra Magnus found himself concerned about the Wrecker's whereabouts.

And each one of them had every right to be… mainly because Wheeljack was currently being held prisoner on board the _Nemesis_. He was restrained by electro-manacles, and was barely conscious, having being beaten to the point of open, freely flowing wounds. Yet, even though he had been beaten so badly, he refused to give the Decepticons the information they wanted. Even under threat of death he had not given in, and now he was alone, left to bleed out and die. He didn't care so much about dying; he just wanted to see the Decepticons snarl, grit their teeth, clench their servos, become angry when they could force no information out of him.

The door opened, and Wheeljack's eyes opened slowly, drearily, as someone slipped in. He noticed that it was Knockout, the Decepticon medic, and the Wrecker scowled as the doctor walked over and regarded him with an angry expression.

"You're a very difficult bot to crack," Knockout noted, but Wheeljack stubbornly remained silent, which seemed to anger the medic even more. "We wanted to not use a cortical psychic patch, but you're not making it easy for us."

"Use it, then," Wheeljack said bitterly. "You won't get scrap out of me!"

Knockout scowled, but said nothing as the door opened. Someone stepped in, and Wheeljack's eyes widened as he gazed at the Decepticon with a single optic. He had heard a lot about this particular Decepticon – the 'Con before him was a scientist, one of high esteem… and was the creator of the cortical psychic patch.

"Shockwave," Wheeljack hissed.

Shockwave said absolutely nothing to the Wrecker; instead, he picked up a long, purplish cord that reminded Wheeljack of Soundwave's tentacles, just a little bit thinner, then turned to Wheeljack and started stomping towards him.

Wheeljack was lying to himself if he said that he wasn't afraid at all, because he was. He was fearful that he couldn't be able to conceal the information that the 'Cons so desperately sought, but he was also fearful that his mind would be permanently damaged. It could happen and it was one of the biggest reasons that Optimus Prime had banned it… at least by the Autobots.

Wheeljack suddenly felt the cord get plugged into the back of his neck, and his optics widened before he found himself unconscious…

_And standing in a familiar battlefield. It was one of the ones that the Wreckers had taken part of, but it had been so long ago that he no longer really remembered the details. It was a deserted place, too; it was clearly after the battle had taken place and clean-up had occurred. Wheeljack noticed, however, that he wasn't completely alone; there was someone standing in front of him, someone he recognised._

_Wheeljack growled and pulled his katanas from his back. "Get out of my head, freak," he hissed, and Shockwave turned to regard him._

_"__I cannot do that," the 'Con said, his voice sending a shiver down Jackie's backstrut. However, the Wrecker didn't back down; instead he took a threatening step forward. Shockwave didn't seem fearful, or even alarmed. "What you are doing is illogical. You cannot harm me."_

_"__It's my head,"Wheeljack said simply, "So I can do what I—agh!" He clutched at his head as an enormous amount of pain raced through it. It felt like his head was being crushed underneath a large pede, and he collapsed to his knees and slammed his forehead against the ground. The whole time Shockwave just stood above the Wrecker, watching._

_Eventually the cyclopean Decepticon spoke. "Give me the information I seek, and the pain will stop. It is the only logical solution."_

_Wheeljack fought through the agony in his head to look up at the 'Con. "Go… g-get… scrapped…!"_

_This seemed to anger the 'Con, but before anything else could happen, Wheeljack felt the pain in his head stop… and Shockwave just seemed to disappear into nothingness. Darkness began to enswathe Wheeljack, causing him to begin to panic…_

And as he flailed, his fist smashed Knockout in the chin, causing the Decepticon medic to stumble backwards and slam into a wall, slumping to the floor. Shockwave had begun to stride over to Wheeljack, but the Wrecker didn't panic; he took out his katanas and tried to slice at the 'Con, hitting him in the single optic. Shockwave made a noise reminiscent of an agonised cry, just much quieter, and stumbled backwards. This allowed Wheeljack to make an escape, and he ran through the corridors of the _Nemesis_, killing or knocking out every Vehicon that tried to stop him.

The only time he had an issue was when he found himself on top of the warship, looking down at the ground that was thousands of miles below. Without the ability to fly, jumping was not an option for the Wrecker; he would merely slam into the ground and probably explode or something.

Looking behind him and seeing Vehicons running towards him – as well as Soundwave stalking towards him – was enough to make him reconsider. He would rather die than give precious information to the Decepticon forces, so – with one last look back at them and a grin – he ran and jumped off the edge of the warship.

Flying through the air as fast as he was didn't scare Wheeljack; it was the ground below that scared him. Pressing a finger to his audio processor, he screamed, "I need a Ground Bridge!"

Everyone in the Autobot base stiffened as they heard Wheeljack's words – including the newly awake Vesper – and her cyan optics widened. Ratchet immediately hurried over and tried to triangulate Wheeljack's coordinates, but found that he was unable to. He was, however, able to open a Ground Bridge just underneath Wheeljack, and the Wrecker flew into the base as the bridge opened, slamming into the floor and lying still as the bridge closed.

Vesper watched as the medic tentatively walked over and put his servo on Wheeljack's shoulder. Thankfully, the Wrecker groaned and soon enough sat up, although Ratchet was still concerned for the bot's health.

"It is thankful that you are alright," Vesper said, grinning at her former bodyguard, and Wheeljack grinned back. Then Vesper's face fell and she said, "What happened to you? Why did you not return earlier?"

Wheeljack was about to say something, but then he fell silent as Ultra Magnus strode over and said, "You were taken captive by the Decepticons."

Wheeljack was a little taken aback by how easily Magnus had guessed, but he nodded. "Yeah… but they didn't get anything out of me," he assured everyone. This drew the smallest of smiles from Magnus, who said nothing else.

Instead, he turned to everyone else and said, "This is getting out of hand."

Vesper found herself nodding in agreement. "The Decepticons are getting more and more desperate, it seems, to take us out." Everyone else nodded…

But they had absolutely no idea that they were horribly correct in their assumptions.


	29. Chapter 28

"You're a pathetic piece of shit, you know that?!"

A slap made contact with Alice's cheek, and she was sent flying into a nearby wall. She barely managed to prevent herself from hurting herself severely, but she still cried out in pain as the one who'd struck her – her father – stomped towards her, grabbing her white hair and picking her up. Her mother stood behind her husband, a scowl on her face. "It's because of _you_ that we're homeless!" Alice's dad scathingly hissed, his eyes blazing with fury as he leaned close to his daughter's face.

Her dad was referring to the fact that, a couple of months ago, Decepticons had blown up half of New York, taking Alice's family's home with it. It had also destroyed whatever sort of drug laboratory her parents had had in their basement. This was the first time, however, that they'd beaten her about it.

The small family was currently staying in a New York hotel. Alice was averse to staying with her parents, but she really had no choice unless she wanted to be tracked down by them later and possibly beaten within an inch of her life. While she knew that she could go to the Autobot base, she didn't want to trouble Ratchet any more than she had, although that was a silly thing to believe considering that Ratchet would do anything for her.

So now, she was stuck in a hotel with her parents, who hated her. She hated them and really wanted to go back to the ones who actually liked her and wouldn't beat her to a pulp. But doing that was currently way out of the question.

Alice's father suddenly dropped her on the ground, and she cried out as a loud snap resonated throughout the air, and she cringed as she put her hand on her ankle, where the pain was emanating from. Then her father turned on his heel and stalked back over to his wife before looking back at his daughter and saying, "Stay put. We'll be back in three hours." Then he and Alice's mother left the building, leaving Alice whimpering and clutching her ankle. She waited for about twenty minutes – to make sure that her parents weren't actually returning for a while – before dragging herself over to her bag. She sifted through it, desperately fighting back tears, and finally wrapped her fingers around her phone. Then she dialled a familiar number and put it to her ear, wondering what she would say when the one she was calling picked up.

Ratchet was tapping away at one of the monitors in the Autobot base when his audio processor started to ring, and he frowned as he pressed one finger to it. "Hello?" he asked, confused. He cast a nervous glance towards the others, who were helping Wheeljack to recover and Vesper to start walking again.

"_Ratch? It's me, Alice_," his charge's familiar voice said, and while Ratchet was relieved to hear her, he was alarmed by the pained, shaky tone of her voice.

"Something wrong?" he asked immediately, and he began to hear sobbing. His optics widened, and his alarmed shout of, "Alice?!" drew the attention of the others. Vesper frowned as she saw the medic become more and more frantic, and all Ratchet was getting was violent crying on Alice's end. "Alice, please, answer me with something other than sobs!"

"_Ratch, please, I need your help… I think they're gonna kill me…_," the white haired girl suddenly sobbed, and Ratchet's optics widened even more, if that was even possible. He had no idea what she was talking about but it was enough to alarm him, and he asked where she was, only for her to say, "_A hotel somewhere in New York_." That wasn't really enough information for the medic, but he didn't say that as he walked over to the Ground Bridge control system and triangulated her cell phone signal. He soon discovered her location, and instantly knew that he wasn't able to bridge there instantly without getting spotted.

"How long are you on your own?" Ratchet asked, guessing that the only reason she'd called was because she was alone. He knew that she was with her parents, and when he thought about her earlier words about someone killing her, fear bloomed within his spark.

"_Three hours… Please… hurry,_" Alice sobbed, then alarmingly cut off the phone call. Ratchet began to shake his head, and he worriedly looked back at everyone else, who was giving him approving looks. They all didn't know what was going on, but it was clear to them all that whatever had happened was urgent and concerned the very one that Ratchet was supposed to protect. He nodded in return and opened a Ground Bridge near New York, then transformed into vehicle mode and drove in. It closed behind him as he found himself driving towards the city that still hadn't been completely rebuilt, and his thoughts were racing. He once thought about turning his lights and sirens on, make his trip a little faster, but he didn't.

When he pulled up at the hotel that he'd tracked Alice to, he immediately initiated his human holoform and stepped out of the vehicle. Then he ran into the lobby, asked which room the Darnells were staying in, and as soon as he learned the room number he ran up the stairs towards the room. People who walked past him were surprised at how much energy he had, for in their eyes he was an old man, possibly a war veteran. However, he cared little for their thoughts as he skidded to a stop in front of the room that Alice was staying in, and he pounded his fist on the door.

"Alice?" he asked, trying to make his voice seem calm and even. He didn't see an angry man and woman heading towards him until he was grabbed and yanked away from the door. Stumbling, Ratchet looked up to see Alice's parents, and a scowl appeared on his face. "So, you must be Alice's parents."

"Who the fuck are you?" Alice's father drawled.

Ratchet's eyes flashed. "I could ask you the same question."

This seemed to anger the man. "I'm Gregory Darnell, the father of the girl you're lookin' for."

Then the woman stepped forward. "And I'm Elizabeth, her mother. Now tell us who you are, or we'll call the cops."

Ratchet's eyes flashed yet again. "I'm someone who does a better job of protecting Alice than you do. The name's Ratchet," he said. His eyes narrowed. "In fact, I have every reason to believe that you don't even care about her."

Elizabeth seemed quite taken aback by this. "Excuse me?" she asked, sounding a little breathless. Then she scowled and said, "You have the nerve to fucking accuse us like that? She's our daughter!"

"Really?" a choked voice said, and Ratchet used his peripheral vision to notice that Alice had opened the door to the hotel room. Her eyes were red, the skin around them puffy from crying, and she had already begun to develop many a bruise. Ratchet noticed that she was leaning against the door frame, keeping weight off of her ankle, and the medic couldn't help but wonder why the members of Team Prime had been injuring their feet or legs so much of late. "If you care, then you're doing a crap job of showing that to me," the girl said, her voice strained.

"Get back inside," Gregory said, trying to keep his voice light and kind, but Ratchet wasn't fooled at all. He could see the harsh glare in the human man's eyes, and Ratchet's hand clenched. He wished that he wasn't in human holoform; he would have much preferred to use his Cybertronian servos to crush Alice's parents into the floor.

"And wait for Ratchet to leave so you can beat the shit out of me when you come back in?" she asked, her voice venomous. She shook her head. "No thanks."

"You wretched—" Elizabeth went to say, and even though she got shushed by Gregory, Ratchet had seen their true colours in that instant. His eyes burning with fury, Ratchet stalked over and slammed his fist into Gregory's face, sending him flying backwards with a howl of pain. He crashed to the floor, and Elizabeth ran over to her husband, helping him to his feet. "How dare—"

"Shut up," Ratchet hissed, his voice burning, and Elizabeth fell silent, her eyes widening. Then the medic walked over to Alice and wrapped his arm around her. "C'mon," he said, refusing to look in the direction of his charge's parents, "Let's go somewhere where your ankle can be treated."

"Don't you dare take her away," Gregory hissed as he finally recovered completely, shaking his head. "Or I will report you for kidnapping."

Ratchet actually began to laugh at this. "Are you kidding me right now?" he asked, unable to hold his chuckles back. "If anyone should get reported for anything, it's you two for domestic violence and abuse!" He shook his head. "Now, if you excuse me, I'm taking your daughter to the hospital."

"No, you're not!" Gregory roared, leaping towards the medic. His eyes widened, for he knew that he wouldn't be able to fend Gregory off, not supporting Alice like he was. However, the angry human never actually got to attack Ratchet's human holomatter form, for he was punched away.

Everyone looked over to see a very unfamiliar person; it was a young boy with lightly tanned skin. He was wearing a yellow jacket with black stripes on each side of the chest, and he had the same vibrant blue eyes as Ratchet did. He also had a hard, angry look on his face, and Ratchet instantly recognised who it was even though he'd never seen the boy before.

"Holy crap, is that Bee?" Alice whispered, and Ratchet nodded as the attention of Elizabeth and Gregory focused on the young bot's holoform. Bee seemed to be regarding Alice's parents with anger, and Ratchet understood that it was because they'd attacked him.

Suddenly Bee signed something to his two friends, and Alice's eyes widened as she realised that Bee's muteness had carried on to his human form's voice. That saddened her – she would have liked to hear Bee's voice – but that was the least of her concerns. She couldn't understand what Bee had 'said' but Ratchet clearly had, and he nodded before turning to Alice and explaining the situation; the speedster wanted the doctor and the human girl to depart and head back for base.

"But—" Alice started, but she was cut off as Bumblebee suddenly ran over to the two and started to usher them away. He'd already stunned Elizabeth and Gregory, and had dragged them inside of their room; now all that needed to happen was their departure. Ratchet and Bee helped Alice to hobble down the hall and into the foyer of the hotel, then out to Ratchet's actual body, which was sitting in the car park.

Ratchet placed Alice gently in the back of his vehicular form, then his holoform disappeared as his body restarted. He felt better, being back in vehicle form; he disliked his human holomatter form, even if it did come in useful. Then he noticed that Bee's human form was walking away, and he'd recalled never seeing Bee's actual vehicle.

"Bumblebee," he said, driving over and pulling up next to the speedster's human form, "Where's your body?" Bee signed something to him, and Ratchet would have nodded if he'd been able to. "Ah, okay. So where's the Ground Bridge?"

Bee motioned for him to follow, then turned on his heel and walked off. Ratchet followed closely, trying not to run Bee over, and keeping an eye on Alice in the back. He followed Bee to a run-down, hidden location, and immediately he saw the bridge. Bee disappeared – his human holoform had been disengaged – and the medic drove into the bridge, soon finding himself in the Autobot base.

Bulkhead was attempting to aid Vesper walk, but it was obvious that the scarlet femme was finding it incredibly difficult. Optimus was still unconscious, and – as Ratchet noticed the sparkbeat was faint – it was clear that the battery was running low on power. He knew that he'd have to fetch one of the other ones soon, but that didn't matter to him so much at current time. Asking Arcee to remove Alice from the back – which she did with no complaints – he transformed and took his human charge from the femme, then walked over to one of the medical tables that were human sized. He laid her down on it, and she smiled weakly up at him.

"I'm calling June for you," he said, and Alice simply nodded as Ratchet turned on his heel and walked over to the communications hub. As he passed Vesper and Bulkhead, however, he stopped, turned to them, and said, "Perhaps you should ease up," to Vesper. "You don't look too good."

The femme smiled. "I am fine, Doctor," she said, then cried out as – yet again – her leg gave out on her. Bulkhead caught her and helped her back over to the medical berth, and Ratchet sighed as he walked over to the communications hub and typed in Nurse Darby's number. Soon enough she picked up, and Ratchet informed her of the situation. She promised to be there soon, then promptly hung up. Ratchet sighed and then turned back to his human charge.

"Alice, you holding up?" he asked, and the human girl nodded at him and grinned, flashing her teeth.

"Yeah, I am," she said. Then she looked over Optimus and frowned. "How's Optimus holding up?" She cast her gaze over to Vesper, who was now sitting miserably on the edge of one of the medical berths, staring at the floor.

Ratchet shook his head. "Regretfully, he's not getting any better, but thankfully, he's not getting worse."

Vesper suddenly released a heaving sigh, and everyone turned to her. Ultra Magnus, who was attending to Wheeljack, frowned as he stood and walked over to her. "Are you alright?"

The femme shook her head, then reached up and touched her spark. Her fingers brushed her scar, and she remembered with a sad smile how she'd gotten it. A training session with Optimus. "I… I just want him to recover."

Ultra Magnus frowned. "We do not know if he will," he said.

Wheeljack, listening quietly, suddenly recalled something, and struggled to his feet. "Hey, Ultra Magnus," he said, getting the bot's attention.

Ultra Magnus scowled. "Ultra Magnus, _sir_," he corrected, putting particular emphasis on the 'sir', but Wheeljack simply waved it off.

"Can't you create electricity?" he asked, and Magnus frowned before nodding. Wheeljack grinned.

"Why would you—" Ultra Magnus started, but he was cut off when Wheeljack said:

"How about you use that to charge Optimus up?"


	30. Chapter 29

Ultra Magnus stood beside Ratchet, reluctance clear on his face. The medic had assured Magnus that everything would go according to plan, yet there were still doubts. Sitting nearby, on the human-sized medical bed, was Alice, and Vesper was sitting on the other medical berth, fear in her eyes. She too wondered if everything would go to plan, and she squeezed her eyes shut as Bulkhead put his servo on her shoulder. Wheeljack, Arcee and Bumblebee were standing near the Ground Bridge, all wondering if Wheeljack's plan would work.

Ultra Magnus looked at the doctor. "I am unsure if this will work. I mean, you tried everything to revive Optimus beforehand, yes?"

Ratchet nodded. "Even defibrillation, yes. But your lightning-based powers should give Optimus a higher voltage than my defibrillator." He shook his head before putting his hand on Magnus' arm (seeing as he couldn't really reach his shoulder). "Don't worry."

Ultra Magnus sighed, still not entirely doubt-free, before turning back to Optimus' comatose form. The plating moved on his fingers, revealing the conduits underneath, and Alice's eyes widened as she saw the vibrantly blue currents of electricity coursing through them. Then he gently put his fingers to Optimus' chest, and sent that electricity into the Prime.

Vesper felt her spark contract, and she had to suppress a gasp as Optimus' body convulsed. Ultra Magnus immediately jerked his fingers away, the plating sliding back over and covering the exposed conduits, and Ratchet looked over at the life support monitor to see that Optimus' spark beat was strong now. Everyone waited with bated breath to see what happened next, but Vesper could already feel Optimus coming back to consciousness, and although she said nothing, the smile that brightened her face told everyone what they needed to know: Optimus Prime had recovered.

"Is he…?" Arcee asked, her question trailing off, but she didn't need to complete it anyway. Everyone wanted to know if their leader was going to wake soon, and they promptly received their answer. The Prime groaned, and his hand slowly moved so that he was holding his forehead, his teeth grit and his eyes squeezed shut.

"Wha—?" he questioned as his hand fell to his side, and his optics – dull at present time – opened and flicked over to the relieved Autobots and Alice. "What… happened…?" he asked, his voice hoarse and crackly.

Ratchet walked over and smiled gently. "You collapsed in a cave a number of days ago, and you've been barely hanging onto life ever since," he explained, and Optimus groaned before closing his eyes again. "Epp epp epp!" Ratchet said, grabbing the Prime's shoulder and shaking lightly. "No going back to sleep!"

Optimus' optics opened yet again, and he smiled weakly up at the medic before saying, "Then help me to sit up, please." Ratchet obliged, putting one servo on the Prime's back and the other on his chest, and gently aided Optimus in sitting up.

"Thank the Allspark you're okay," Arcee breathed, and everyone else gave Optimus a relieved smile, including Vesper, although she had always believed that he would recover.

Optimus smiled in return. "I am glad to see that you are all well," he said, looking between everyone, his eyes trailing for a few seconds longer on his sparkmate. Then he looked over at Alice and his smile grew a little warmer. Optimus had a particular soft spot for the humans, and seeing one again made him feel better, knowing that they were still around and not slaves of the Decepticons. However, he also took note of the fact that their other human companions weren't around, and he asked, "Where are the children?"

Bulkhead shook his head. "At school." Then he frowned. "I think. They didn't come back last night."

Optimus seemed quite alarmed by that. "What?" he asked, not comprehending. Ratchet, however, noticed that the Prime seemed to be coming along quite well; already he had regained most of his strength. "The children did not return to base?" he asked.

Wheeljack shook his head. "Nah. They said their parents were worried about 'em." He shook his head. "That, and they were exhausted when they left." He shook his head. "In any case, I think they're fine."

Vesper looked over at him. "You should not say that, Wheeljack."

The Wrecker looked over at her. "Why not?" he asked, seeming a little confused by why she'd said such a thing. "I mean, nothing's gonna—"

Vesper scowled. "Anything could happen; the Decepticon attacks on us are getting far worse, and far more frequent." She shook her head. "The children are known associates of us, Wheeljack." She frowned, and opened her mouth to say something more, but pressed her lips together as a familiar car – June's – pulled into the base. June stepped out, and Ratchet immediately turned to her and explained the situation, gesturing over at Alice. The woman nodded and hurried over to the white-haired girl just as the Autobots' three other human companions stepped out of the car.

"Hey, you're up!" Miko exclaimed, noticing that Optimus was looking at them with a smile on his face, and the Prime nodded. Miko grinned. "Good to see!" Then she turned and waved at Bulkhead, who smiled and waved in return.

A sharp squeal resonated through the air then, and Ratchet immediately whipped around to see that Alice was cringing, tears in her eyes. June was giving her an apologetic look, and the medic found himself wondering what had happened as the nurse asked Jack to get her bag out of the car. He did so, and June pulled out some bandages and started to wrap them around Alice's ankle.

"What are you doing?" Ratchet asked, striding over and leaning down to get a better look.

June smiled, but didn't take her eyes off of her work. "Binding Alice's ankle so I can somewhat stabilise it. I'll need to take her to the hospital, however, in order to completely stabilise it."

June's words seemed to panic Alice, who started to shake her head wildly. "Please don't take me to the hospital, they'll find me!" she exclaimed. To everyone else, her words made absolutely no sense, but to Ratchet and Bumblebee they made perfect sense. June seemed taken aback as Alice tried to struggle away, but Ratchet put his hand behind her and prevented her escape.

Then he looked up at June and sighed. "It's not a good idea to take her out of the base at the moment."

"Why not?" Optimus piped up, and everyone looked over at him to see that he had a confused frown on his face. "Is she in danger?"

The medic nodded. "Yes, she is," he said. He looked over at Bee, who chirped something sadly and looked down at his pedes.

Optimus' optics widened. "Alice's parents are out to get her?" He looked over at the white haired human girl, who was miserably rubbing her shoulder. "May I ask why?"

"Because they're stupid and they gain some sort of sick satisfaction out of keeping me around and beating me," Alice growled, tears still in her eyes. Optimus was stunned into silence; he couldn't think of anything to say. Then his facial expression changed from one of shock to one of anger; he snarled and his servos clenched.

His anger was soon replaced with horror and fear as a loud explosion sounded from close by, and the entire base shook. Ratchet immediately covered June and Alice with his servos, while Bee grabbed Raf, Bulkhead grabbed Miko, and Arcee grabbed Jack. Wheeljack and Ultra Magnus looked around warily, and Optimus stood – although Ratchet noticed and protested against him doing so – before going over to Vesper, who was looking around with a fearfully knowing expression on her face.

She turned to face Optimus. "We need to leave this place."

This confused the Prime. "Why—" He cut himself off as he felt something in his spark, and he felt Vesper's fear pulse into him. In that, he also found the reason why she'd advised leaving.

The Decepticons had found them again.


	31. Chapter 30

"We need to leave, now!" Optimus roared, running over to the Ground Bridge control and typing in a set of coordinates that were as far away from the Autobot base as Optimus could remember, and immediately opened the bridge. "Autobots, transform and roll out!" he ordered as Ratchet, Bulkhead, Bumblebee and Arcee transformed. Jack hopped onto Arcee while the other three nestled in the cabs of their respective guardians, with June going with Ratchet in order to monitor Alice's ankle, and then the four rapidly departed. Ultra Magnus and Wheeljack transformed as well, then drove off. That left only Optimus and Vesper. Being unable to even stand, Vesper couldn't really transform or even attempt escape, and Optimus knew that her condition posed a huge problem. "Vesper—"

"Just leave me, Optimus," the femme begged, and Optimus' eyes widened. "I will not be able to escape the Decepticons."

The Prime shook his head, then flinched as another explosion wracked the base. "No. I will not leave you." He refused to leave her behind; he didn't want her to die. He would have gladly died alongside her, but he wouldn't leave her to die alone. "If you die here, then I do as well."

Vesper's eyes widened. "N-No! I… You need to leave! You cannot die, not while—"

Optimus cut her off. "I cannot carry the hope of the others on my shoulders if I do not have you." He walked over to her and put his servos on his shoulders. "I may have been able to carry that weight before, but now that I have met you…" He shook his head. "I simply cannot."

Vesper would have teared up if she was capable of shedding tears. "Optimus…," she breathed, then whimpered and squeezed her eyes shut as yet another explosion shook the base. Rocks started to fall from the roof, and as Optimus looked up he knew that there was very little time left. The other members of Team Prime were probably all wondering why Vesper and he hadn't come through the open bridge yet. He looked back at Vesper to see that she was looking straight at him, her eyes filled with fear. "Please tell me that what you said… was not a figment of my imagination."

Optimus frowned. "I… do not understand."

"The dream, Optimus. Right as I was woken, I… I swear I heard you say something," she breathed, feeling like a fool. Of course it had been her imagination. She looked down at her feet, but in doing that she didn't see the small, loving smile that appeared on Optimus' face.

"I did say that," he breathed, and Vesper's eyes widened before she slowly looked back up at her sparkmate. "I did say that, and I will say it again right now: I love you." He pulled her into a hug, stroking the back of her head. "I love you, and even when I become one with the Allspark, I will never stop."

Vesper was stunned silent as Optimus stepped away and regarded her lovingly. Then he frowned and looked back up at the roof as more rocks started to fall, one hitting one of his shoulders. Without a second regard he suddenly scooped his sparkmate up bridal-style (which alarmed her) and ran towards the Ground Bridge. He jumped through, and just as he did, he asked Vesper to shoot the Ground Bridge control mechanism, which she did, damaging it to the point of causing it to explode. However, that screwed up the Ground Bridge, and Optimus didn't even realise this… until he and his crippled sparkmate ended up in the middle of the ocean.

"Eyaah!" Vesper cried as she found herself immersed in salty water. Optimus had released her when he'd plunged into the waves, and Vesper was finding herself unable to keep afloat, due to her bung leg. "H-Help!" she cried, then felt something wrap around her torso just underneath her arms, and she felt immediately safer. She looked over to see Optimus, faceplate up, optics blazing with determination as he started to swim towards land. He said nothing to her except that he wanted her to trust him, that he wouldn't release her, and that she would be alright.

After about two hours of non-stop swimming, Optimus finally dragged himself and his sparkmate onto shore, and he laid on the sand, exhausted, Vesper close to his body. She didn't feel like moving either; the water lapping at her pedes was warm, although she understood that if she and Optimus didn't get dry soon, they would develop a nasty case of rust. She gently told him this, and the Prime nodded before removing his arm from around her, standing, then scooping her up again and heading away from the water. The two didn't leave the beach; it was warm there, and the sun was shining. The sun aided them in drying off, and eventually they just sat under the shade of a tree, gazing at the sunbeams sparkling off of the ocean waves.

Their tranquillity, however, was not shared by the others. Ratchet, upon seeing the Ground Bridge close without seeing Vesper and Optimus emerge, had begun to panic. The others had tried to calm him, but it hadn't worked. At least the medic hadn't been driving insanely around in circles; that would have gotten him a harsh reprimand from June or something for endangering his charge and her patient.

Ratchet sighed. They'd all driven to a secluded, hidden place, under cover of the darkness they'd been bridged into, and – once the humans were safely in the middle of the unknown clearing – the Autobots had transformed into their robot modes, and were now sitting around. The only ones that weren't with them were Wheeljack, June and Alice; June had explained that Alice needed to go to the hospital, and while Ratchet had still be averse to letting his human charge go, Wheeljack had convinced him. Ratchet had, however, only let the two of them go with Wheeljack, and those terms had been accepted. It had been half an hour since they'd left, and the medic was nervous.

"There is no point worrying," Ultra Magnus said, attempting to soothe the frayed nerves of the medic, but his calming words had little effect. "I am sure they're fine."

Bumblebee beeped something lightly, and Raf looked up at him and nodded. Then the human boy looked back at the others and said, "Bee thinks that the others got warped to another set of coordinates."

Ratchet was about to exclaim something about how silly that sounded, but something stopped him, and he frowned. Perhaps the coordinates had been corrupted somehow, sending Vesper and Optimus to another place… or perhaps they'd never even entered the bridge. Perhaps they'd been caught by the Decepticons… or perhaps they'd been killed by them. That thought was one that Ratchet tried his hardest to eliminate, but that was an impossibility in itself.

Wheeljack suddenly pulled up, and everyone looked over at him as June got out of his driver's side door, then closed it and walked around to the passenger side. Then she opened the door and helped Alice out. Ratchet's optics widened as he noticed the plaster surrounding her ankle, and the stick thing that she was using to support herself. At least it was her right ankle that had been broken, which allowed her to use her new thing to support herself.

"Alice, what is that?" Ratchet found himself asking, striding over as Wheeljack transformed back into robot mode.

The white haired human frowned. "What's what?" she asked. Ratchet, in response, mutely gestured at the stick, and she looked at it before grinning. "It's called a crutch. It'll help me walk until my ankle heals." She gave the medic a one-armed shrug, then looked around. "Still no Vesper and Optimus?"

It was Ultra Magnus who answered. "Unfortunately, no," he said. "They haven't even tried to communicate." He shook his head. "If they're out of contact range, then that is acceptable, but…"

"Don't say it," Arcee suddenly said, her voice strained. "We're all thinking the same thing, so it doesn't need to be said." She looked down at Jack and June, who were now sitting together and talking quietly amongst themselves. Suddenly Jack's phone chimed, and everyone stiffened as he slowly pulled it out and checked who it was from. Then he frowned, which made alarm bells ring in everyone's head. Those alarm bells died out when Jack said that it was a message from his school, saying something about upcoming exams.

"Well, it could have been worse," June said with a heaving sigh, and everyone nodded in agreement. Nobody said that it could have also been better – a communication from Optimus or Vesper would have been much appreciated – but nobody really needed to. They were all on the same train of thought.

They were not the only ones who wanted some form of communication. Optimus, still sitting in the shade of the tree, had tried three times to get in contact with the other members of Team Prime, with no success at all. He was getting worried and frustrated, and he could tell that Vesper was getting worried as well. He looked over at her to see that she too was trying to communicate with the others, but like Optimus, she was having no success.

"Optimus, perhaps the others are outside of our communication range," Vesper suggested as her hand fell away from her audio processors. "I mean, it is not out of the realm of possibilities." She put her hand on Optimus' as he nodded.

"Indeed," he said, smiling sadly down at her. "But getting back into the range of communications is not something easily done." He gestured at the ocean before them. "We are stranded on an island."

"You could swim," Vesper said, then realised how silly that sounded. The look she got from her sparkmate reinforced her realisation, and she blushed before looking away. "Or not."

"Getting back into the range of communications would mean leaving you," Optimus said, his voice neutral, "So no." He leaned back against the tree. "I will not leave you alone, not while you are in a less-than-fit condition." He put his arm around his sparkmate and pulled her close to him. She smiled as she snuggled next to him and closed her eyes, drifting off into sleep. Optimus remained awake and alert, but he couldn't help but continually look down at her and smile at her sleeping form. At one point, when he remembered that she was supposed to try and regain use of her leg, he considered waking her, but couldn't bring himself too and just let her sleep.

And it was then that he felt a horrific fear pulse into his spark.

He immediately realised that something was happening, and he tried to wake his sparkmate, but to no avail. Her face was contorted in fear and hurt, and Optimus hated seeing that. "Vesper?" he breathed, tried to rouse her again. "Vesper, wake up," he whispered, feeling his own fear beginning to take root. When she didn't wake, Optimus realised that he had no choice but to see what was happening and see if he could draw her out of it, for that was the safest option. He leaned against the tree and closed his eyes, then soon enough he was pulled into whatever terror Vesper was experiencing.

_He found himself in a dark room. He could hear screams of pain, as well as choking sobs, and he instantly recognised his sparkmate's voice. He immediately ran out of the room, through the corridors of the _Nemesis_ – which made him wonder if Vesper was reliving a memory – until he got to the room where the screams were the loudest. Immediately he opened the door, and what he saw was enough to make him want to _kill_, which wasn't something he felt often._

_Vesper was lying on her berth, Starscream forcing himself upon her. Her cyan optics were wide with terror and pain, and she appeared to be struggling. She cried out as Starscream forced her valve open, but the Seeker didn't get to do much more than that. Optimus walked over and grabbed Starscream's wing, then yanked him off of his femme and threw the Seeker into a nearby wall._

_Vesper gasped and scrambled back, coyly covering herself before realising that her saviour was Optimus. Her eyes widened as the Prime – ignoring Starscream, although it was difficult – walked over to her and pulled her into a hug. "O-Optimus…?" she breathed, and he nodded as he stroked the back of her head._

_"__It is alright, Vesper," he said. "I am here for you."_

_"__B-But… this was when I—"_

_"__It is a dream, my dear. Think of something other than this," he breathed as she looked up at him, her eyes quivering. "It is alright," he said, and Vesper shakily nodded. Then the femme sucked in air, squeezing her eyes shut and pressing her head against Optimus' chest, and right before Optimus' optics the scenery changed… to the balcony at Iacon, the one where Optimus and Vesper had shared their first dream. The Prime felt the femme relax in his arms, and he breathed a sigh of relief. "You are safe now," he whispered._

_"__Optimus, I… I keep reliving those moments," she sobbed. "I hate it, I hate it, I hate it!" she cried, Optimus was taken aback by his sparkmate's exclamation. He had no idea what to say to that, but Vesper wouldn't even let him get a word in. "I feel dirty, like it is all _my_ fault he took advantage of me like that, and—"_

_That was where Optimus cut her off. "NO!" he furiously exclaimed, and Vesper's eyes widened as she looked up at him. He was looking down at her, anger in his eyes, although she could tell that that anger was in no way directed towards her. "It is _never_ your fault for being subjected to that sort of… despicable action! That is a crime against you; you are a victim! You are not at fault here!" he exclaimed, before sadly frowning at his femme. "Please, _please_, do not believe that it is your fault."_

_Vesper smiled sadly before sobbing again and burying her face in her sparkmate's chest. Optimus said nothing more; instead, he comfortingly rubbed her back, and just let her cry. He understood what it was like to keep his emotions bottled away, to have them weighing on his spark. He also didn't want to wish it on anybody else, especially not his sparkmate._

_Suddenly he realised that Vesper was fading, and he looked down at his arm to realise that he was fading as well. When he informed her of that, she was a bit surprised, but then she accepted it. As the world around them went dark yet again, they remained in an embrace…_

And woke up in one.

The sunlight had long since disappeared, and now, stars twinkled about them. Vesper and Optimus both looked up at them, and Optimus smiled as he felt how at peace his sparkmate was. But he also could feel some worry in her spark, and he looked down at her to see that she was gazing at the waves. "Vesper?" he asked, gaining her attention. She looked up at him as he asked, "What is it that troubles you?"

"Truthfully, I am exceptionally worried about the others…" She looked away, biting her lip, the moon illuminating her and Optimus. And Vesper had every right to be worried about the others…

Because, as it were, they were in a lot of strife.


	32. Chapter 31

Ratchet and Ultra Magnus were back-to-back; Ratchet had his surgical blades extended, while Ultra Magnus was wielding his hammer. Both of them were absolutely surrounded by Decepticons, and nearby, another circle of 'Cons were surrounding Arcee and Bumblebee, while yet _another_ circle of 'Cons were surrounding Wheeljack and Bulkhead. Miko, Jack, Alice, Raf and June had all – thankfully – been able to hide, thanks to Ultra Magnus detecting the Decepticons arriving, but they were absolutely powerless to do anything. All they could do was hide and pray that the Autobots could defeat the Decepticons.

"We're scrapped if we don't figure a way outta this," Wheeljack hissed to Bulkhead, and the olive green bot nodded in agreement as his azure optics scanned the circle of 'Cons around him. He noticed that they were just plain old Vehicons, easy to take out, but they were accompanied by someone they hadn't seen in a while: Airachnid. Arcee was gnashing her dentas in fury, wanting badly to get revenge for Tailgate, but she knew that trying to attack the Decepticon femme was foolhardy, especially in the current situation.

"Well," Airachnid purred as she walked over, using her actual legs rather than her spidery ones. "Lord Megatron shall be pleased." She walked over to the group of Vehicons surrounding Arcee and Bee, and smiled maliciously to the Autobot femme. "And I will certainly relish killing you," she hissed, directly to the femme, who simply snarled in response.

Ultra Magnus was looking in Airachnid's direction, his eyes ablaze with fury. He didn't know Airachnid well, but he was certainly not liking the fact that she – at current time – was capable of killing one of the Autobots, especially since the others could do nothing in response. Well, _most_ of the others couldn't do anything. Ultra Magnus was unable to use his _hammer_ to attack the Vehicons, but his lightning powers weren't widely known, and could take down most of the Vehicons within seconds.

The plating on his fingers moved, exposing the conduits underneath, and as Ultra Magnus felt the electricity course through him, he smiled lightly. One of the Vehicons seemed to notice what was happening, but it noticed far too late; Ultra Magnus raised his hand and, from it, discharged a huge amount of electricity, targeting the black and purple bots and leaving the others untouched. This also affected Airachnid, who was of a very similar colouration, and the Decepticon femme screamed in agony before collapsing to the ground, falling eerily silent. As all the Vehicons – absolutely cooked – dropped, Arcee jumped over to Airachnid and was about to kill her when Ultra Magnus told her to stop in a harsh voice.

"Why?" she asked, her voice filled with anger and hatred for the fallen 'Con female. "If we kill Airachnid, we can get rid of a problem!"

Ultra Magnus frowned and looked down at Ratchet, who was staring at Airachnid with a concerned expression on his face. Then he sighed. "Doctor, is something on your mind?"

"Yeah," Ratchet admitted. Then he looked at his arm as a part of the plating slid open, and a green screen appeared. Dots – life signals – appeared, and Ratchet frowned as he noticed the Decepticon life signals disappearing rapidly. "I don't think that Airachnid will ever be a problem to us again."

Everyone blinked at Ratchet. The humans even emerged from their hiding place to blink at him, wonder what he was talking about. He didn't care if they were confused, however; he knew what he'd said, and he knew what had happened. Ultra Magnus had used a decent voltage… to kill them all. It was plausible that the lieutenant hadn't even meant to offline anyone, that he'd just meant to knock them out and give Team Prime some time to escape. He'd given them plenty of time to escape, at the very least.

"Ratch?" Alice asked as she hobbled over, and the medic looked down at his injured charge. "Something bothering you?"

He was about to shake his head, but he realised that it would be pointless to lie and nodded instead. "I know it was an accident on his part, but… Ultra Magnus just killed about thirty Vehicons and Airachnid without even trying to."

Everyone was stunned silent. They couldn't believe it; not even Ultra Magnus could believe that he'd done that. He raised his hand, looked at the conduits in his fingers – now covered again – and frowned. He knew that the electricity he could control was powerful, but he had been so sure that he hadn't used that much… He sighed as he clenched his servo and let it fall to his side. "In any case, we have been given precious time to—" He cut himself off as he noticed something odd attached to the underside of Wheeljack's elbow. It was barely noticeable; Ultra Magnus couldn't even believe that he'd spotted it. However, now that he _had_ noticed it, he could see that it occasionally flashed. "Wheeljack," he said suddenly, and everyone looked over at the hammer-wielding warrior as he said, "What is that on your elbow?"

The Wrecker frowned. "What are you—"

He didn't get to finish his sentence; Miko frowned as she walked over and spotted what Ultra Magnus was talking about. "Hey, he's right, there is something there!" she exclaimed, and Wheeljack frowned before looking at his elbow. However, the device was attached in such a way that, no matter how much he tried, the Wrecker would not be able to spot it.

Bulkhead strode over and looked at the small, flashing device. He was soon followed by everyone else but Alice and Ratchet, who could see it from where they were standing. Then he grabbed Wheeljack's elbow and yanked it in a way that caused the white Wrecker to help in surprise. "Jackie, this is a Decepticon tracking device," he said after giving it a closer look.

"Which is how the Decepticons found us in the first place!" Jack realised, and everyone was horrified as they realised the exact same thing. Bulkhead was quick to detach the tracking device, throw it to the ground, and crush it to oblivion.

"Scrap, that means that they know that we're here," Arcee said as she shook her head and crossed her arms over her chassis. "That means we've gotta move out soon."

Ultra Magnus nodded. "Indeed."

Ratchet, however, shook his head. "We can't, not until we get some sort of communication from Optimus or Vesper!"

Alice sighed. "Ratch, there's no point in staying here. They're still alive," she said, smiling up at her worried guardian, "And it's most likely they're out of communication range."

She was correct; Vesper and Optimus were still on an island in the middle of the ocean. They were not, however, sitting underneath a tree; Optimus was instead helping Vesper to regain the use of her leg. She was making excellent progress, but there were still problems. She was managing to walk without too much pain – at most, she felt a small twinge, like a fibre being pulled or something – but sometimes a massive pulse of pain occurred, and she collapsed to her knees. It didn't help that she decided to try walking along the shore, closest to the water, and kept toppling over when the sodden sand gave out underneath her. That proved to be hilarious for Optimus, but the waiting period afterwards – especially if she fell into the water – was not so funny.

Now they were sitting together, waiting for Vesper to dry off yet again. Now, she and Optimus were looking up at the clouds as they floated overhead, trying to pick out shapes among them. They didn't really spot anything of interest, so they ended up lying on the sand, with Optimus' arm around Vesper's shoulder.

"How long are we going to be trapped here?" Vesper wondered, although she didn't realise she'd spoken out loud until Optimus said that he didn't know. "I mean, as much as I like being alone with you," she said, nuzzling into Optimus' side, which made him smile, "I am very worried about the others."

Optimus nodded as he leaned down and rested his cheek on Vesper's head. "I am too, Vesper. But there is not much we can do, stranded here as we are."

"We could always swim," she grumbled, which caused Optimus to chuckle, lean down, and kiss her forehead.

"No, I would rather stay here with you for a few days longer," he said. "Just you and I."

He didn't allow her to speak again; he leaned down and pressed his lips against hers. She immediately sunk into the kiss, although a very small part of her – a dark part – warned her against it, saying that she would just end up harmed. She shoved this thought, however, to the deepest part of her mind as she felt Optimus' servos gently caressing her.

The Prime forced her lips open with his own and slid his glossa into her mouth, and her breath hitched as Optimus' fingers brushed the top of her thigh. She found herself thinking about what he could do to her, and that thought made her shiver with anticipation. But as she found herself tingling underneath every brush of Optimus' fingers, that dark part of her came back full force.

_You will end up as nothing more than a plaything,_ that voice whispered menacingly, _And when you do, you will be broken and worthless. He will not care about you after that._

"No!" she cried, pulling herself away from Optimus and sitting up. He was shocked at first, but immediately became aware of what had happened as he too sat up and simply looked at her, a concerned frown on his face. Vesper huddled where she was sitting, her servos clasping her head, and her head shaking side-to-side. "He would not do that! He is different!"

"Vesper?" Optimus breathed, confused, and he reached for her as she began to sob. The minute his fingers brushed her shoulder, however, the femme cried out and tried to scramble away. "Vesper, calm down! It is alright!" he said, desperately trying to soothe his sparkmate. He felt something deep within his spark – feelings that menaced Vesper, menaced her sanity – and he knew that he had to try and calm her down.

"Stop it!" Vesper suddenly yelled, and Optimus flinched back, initially believing that she was screaming at him. But that thought was soon put to rest when Vesper yelled, "He is not like that! He would never harm me, not purposely!"

Optimus crawled over to his frantic, panicked sparkmate, then wrapped his arms around her, even though she started to scream when he did so and began to struggle. He didn't release her – she could have escaped regardless, for he wasn't holding her tightly – and it paid off. With heaving sobs the femme finally stopped screaming and struggling, and she wrapped her arms around Optimus' neck and hugged him tightly as she cried. He rubbed her back as they sat on the beach, the sun only now beginning to set.

"Optimus, I am so, so sorry," Vesper eventually managed to choke out, and Optimus frowned sadly as she buried her face into the place where his shoulder and neck met. "I just do not want to be used again…"

"Shhh," Optimus breathed, pulled her closer to him. "I will not use you. I could not harm you like that."

"You mean it?" she whimpered, misery still rather evident in her voice.

Optimus nodded. "Of course," he breathed, kissing the top of her head yet again. "I will protect you from everyone who intends to hurt you, yourself included." He then laid his cheek on the top of her head. "And if I ever hurt you, then I am not worthy of you."


	33. Chapter 32

Optimus didn't realise he'd fallen into a deep slumber until he felt a light peck on his cheek, and he blearily opened his optics to see Vesper close to his cheek, a warm smile on her face. "Good morning," she said, her voice tender. Optimus returned her greeting with a kiss, and then yawned. This caused the femme to laugh. "You are still tired?" she asked, a warm smile on her face.

Optimus shook his head, then smiled and rested his head back on his femme's. "This is nice, waking up with you," he breathed, and Vesper nodded in agreement as she snuggled closer. Then she heard him sigh with disappointment. "It is a pity that it cannot happen more often."

Sighing in agreement, Vesper said, "Indeed. But there is no point in complaining." She looked up at Optimus and smiled warmly, tenderly. "After all, we are happy; that is all that matters." She frowned. "But for as long as this war rages…"

Optimus smiled sadly. "Our happiness is under threat." As they had fallen asleep in an embrace, he tightened his arms around her and nuzzled his head into her neck. "As are our lives."

Vesper smiled. "But we will survive this war, and we will see Cybertron light again." A determined gleam appeared in her eyes. "This is what I believe."

Optimus smiled as he looked back up at her, but he didn't get to say anything as his audio processor started to chime. Both he and Vesper shared a wide-eyed look; they had communications with someone. They didn't know who it was, but it was the first contact they'd had since they'd reached the island, and the sparkmates both knew that there was a chance…

Optimus sighed as he put his fingers to his audio processor and answered the communication. "Hello?"

Ratchet, on the other end, had possessed no hope of getting in contact with Optimus. So, when he heard the Prime's crackly voice on the other end of the comm line, he was overjoyed. "Optimus, by the Allspark, you're alright!" he exclaimed, drawing the attention of the others. He grinned happily. "Is Vesper with you?"

"_Yes, she is_," the Prime confirmed, and Ratchet had to suppress a whoop of joy. Instead, he asked where the two were, only to get, "_I have no idea, regrettably_," as an answer. He sighed; he had been hoping that the two had possessed some indication of where they were. However, he also received this: "_We are on an island in the middle of the ocean._"

"How in the world did you end up there?" Ratchet exclaimed, before shaking his head. "Never mind that, actually." He sighed. "Just stay put. We'll find a way to come and get you."

"_Very well, old friend_," Optimus said, before cutting off the communication line. Ratchet sighed as his hand dropped, but then he grinned and turned to the others, who were regarding him with curious looks. He explained to them that he had managed to contact Optimus, and relayed the information regarding the Prime's whereabouts. Finding out that Optimus and Vesper were sitting on a small island in the middle of the ocean concerned all of them, especially Alice.

"Well," Alice huffed, leaning heavily against her crutch, "I don't know how we're gonna get to them." She looked over at June and the kids. "I mean, we can't just hire a cargo ship and sail out to them." Then she seemed to reconsider her words. "Can we?"

June shook her head. "That's just ridiculous," she said. She leaned against a nearby rock, then nervously looked over at the pile of Vehicons… and at the offline Airachnid. "Not as ridiculous as us remaining here, but still ridiculous." The woman was right; the Autobots had screwed up, remaining in the same place they'd been attacked in. They needed to get moving, but there was no way they could leave a pile of Cybertronians here for someone to discover.

Wheeljack and Bulkhead had taken care of most of the cleaning up, but both of them had refused to touch Airachnid, saying that she was creepy. The job of moving the 'Con femme, therefore, had fallen to Arcee, who was more than happy to pick her up and toss her on the ground as roughly as possible. Now, most of the members of Team Prime were sitting together, huddled around a small campfire. The fire was not for the bots, as they were pretty much immune to the cold, but for the humans, who didn't have the same intolerance.

Ultra Magnus was the only one who maintained distance. He didn't quite feel like being social with the others, especially because he could tell that he was unwelcome. Instead, he decided to practice with his electric-based powers, to avoid another mishap that resulted in a mass casualty rate. He practiced channelling them through his hammer – one of the few things that could actually stand the electric current – but ended up distracted when Alice hobbled over and kicked him lightly with her undamaged foot.

"Yes?" he said simply, looking down at her and frowning.

She had nothing but a smile for him in return. "You okay?"

He grimaced, but didn't bother to correct her; he got the feeling that it was his sternness that was one of the reasons he was disliked. "I am fine, but thank you for your concern," he said bluntly, before returning to his practice. A part of him hoped that Alice would go back over to Ratchet and leave him alone, but most of him just _knew_ that that wasn't going to happen. When she didn't move an inch, Ultra Magnus sighed, looked back down at her, and said, "Is there anything you require?"

"Just for you to actually be honest and tell me what's up, sir," she said, smiling sweetly at the warrior.

He frowned at her. "Do I have to?" he asked.

Alice started to laugh. Then she became deadly serious and said, "Yes. Or I'll tase you in the optic."

That thought didn't particularly appeal to Ultra Magnus. Even though he had powers based in lightning, it still affected him; he couldn't count the number of times he'd electrocuted himself during his earlier years. He sighed and looked away from Alice, not really wanting to tell her anything, but he managed to force himself to choke out, "They… dislike me."

Alice frowned. "I don't."

He shook his head. "I assumed that you did," he admitted, then rubbed his arm. "I guess that it is not so much me, but my command style."

Alice sighed; she would have put her hand on his leg, provided she didn't only have one arm and was using her only hand to hold her crutch so she didn't fall on her face. "Look, Ultra Magnus, I know that you're really by-the-book, but you're a military commander," she said. "It's to be expected." She looked back at the others, who were all trying to devise plans on how to rescue Optimus and Vesper. Then she looked back at the others and said, "I mean, you've been commanding like that for years."

"But my way," Ultra Magnus said, his voice sullen, "Is causing unrest among Team Prime."

"Bullshit," Alice coughed, and the warrior looked down at her, confused at her profanity. "Look, sir," she said, kicking him lightly again, "They may dislike it, but you're not going to change easily." She looked back at them again. "They have to suck it up and deal."

Ultra Magnus felt a small smile bloom on his face at the human girl's words. However, he said nothing as Ratchet – finally noticing that Alice was actually with the hammer-wielding warrior – walked over and asked, "Are you two ready to go?"

Alice nodded. Ultra Magnus was a little more reluctant, but he nodded as well. "What about the Decepticons?" he asked, looking over at the pile. "We cannot leave them here."

Ratchet shook his head. "Taken care of." His tone indicated that there was no room for discussion or argument as he transformed and opened his door for Alice. "In," he gruffly said, and Alice – shooting a gentle smile in Magnus' direction – got in. June had decided to ride with Bulkhead, who was taking Jack as well as his own charge, and Arcee was going off ahead, utilising her human holomatter form in order to maintain cover. Wheeljack decided that he would remain behind to deal with the Decepticons (although he still maintained that Airachnid was creepy), which left everyone else to go ahead.

"Stay safe," Bulkhead worriedly said as they departed, and Wheeljack waved goodbye as he watched the other members of Team Prime leave. Then he turned to the pile of Decepticons, and wondered how he was going to get rid of them. An idea sprung to mind then, and while it wasn't the most inconspicuous of ideas, it was the best he had.

So, as he rested his servo on the grenade on his hip, a small smile appeared on his face.


	34. Chapter 33

"You blew them up?!" Ultra Magnus roared, and Wheeljack – not usually scared of anything – actually cringed away. The rest of Team Prime were all sitting around, watching the lieutenant reprimand the Wrecker for his behaviour with amused expressions on their faces. Ratchet had Alice in his lap, and the girl had drifted off into sleep. They'd driven for hours, not really having a specific destination in mind, and now they found themselves in the middle of a pit of cacti; that one had been Bulkhead's fault, because he was the one who'd thought that the cacti were harmless, not remembering that the humans had far softer skin. Luckily, Ultra Magnus had thought to clear a small grove in the middle of the small, cactus-filled chasm, and now they were all resting.

"It was the only way I could think to get rid of them!" Wheeljack exclaimed as Ultra Magnus clenched his servos. He'd returned his hammer to his personal subspace but was seriously considering summoning it again and using it to smash the Wrecker into a mangled scrapheap. However, he was refraining, for even though the Wrecker pissed him off, Ultra Magnus knew that Wheeljack was an integral part of Team Prime.

"I'm sorry, Wheeljack, but Ultra Magnus has a point," Arcee piped up. She'd joined up with the others at some point; she'd gone ahead to pick up some food for the humans, who had thanked her and happily chowed down. "You really shouldn't have done that; it probably attracted attention." She shook her head and crossed her arms over her chassis. "Let's hope you weren't spotted."

Wheeljack shrugged nonchalantly. "Nah. I set the timer, then got out of there before it went up," he explained, and while that didn't make Ultra Magnus feel any better, he decided that there was no point raging anymore. Instead, he turned to the others and asked what their next objective was, only for Miko to enthusiastically exclaim that she wanted to see if it was possible to rent a cargo ship. This earned her dry looks from the other humans and amused ones from the bots.

"Miko, that's really not possible," June sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "If it was possible, it would be absurdly expensive." She looked up at the Japanese girl – who now looked defeated – and smiled sadly. "We will find a way to reunite with Optimus and Vesper, rest assured, but we can't use a cargo ship."

"But that would be awesome…," Miko whined, curling up next to Bulkhead, who just looked down at her and huffed in sadness. He didn't like the idea of being separated from Optimus and Vesper either, but he – just like the others – had contented themselves with the knowledge that the two missing bots were still online. Miko, clearly, would not rest until the missing pair was safe and sound, as well as with the rest of Team Prime.

"Look, I'll see if I can patch in communications again," Ratchet eventually sighed after the group fell silent. Everyone looked over at him as he slowly shook his head. "I do not promise anything, but the least I can do is try. We could have well moved out of communication range." He placed a finger to his audio processor and attempted to open a communication line, which succeeded. What didn't succeed was actually patching it into Optimus' or Vesper's frequency, and he sighed as he closed the line and his hand fell back to his side. "Nothing," he said miserably. Whatever happy mood the others had managed to scrape up had disappeared instantly, and everyone looked away from Ratchet, not wanting to meet his optics.

The only thing none of them realised is that Optimus _had_ gotten the communication, but even though he'd tried to talk, he had received nothing in response. In fact, all he'd gotten was something that was a combination of garble and static, and he was still confused by it. However, he'd not dwelled on his confusion; instead he was aiding Vesper's speedy recovery. The femme could walk almost perfectly now and there was no pain in her leg. There was, however, something darker inside of her; it was something that Optimus was scared would take her away from him. He didn't even have to mention it, either; Vesper was fully aware of Optimus' fear, and she wanted so badly to console him about it, but she had very little idea on how to do that especially when she couldn't even help herself.

"Well, you are walking fine, and you have all mobility back," Optimus noted as Vesper kicked out with her leg. He was proud of how strong she had been; rehabilitation was not easy on anyone. "If Ratchet was here, and you were a soldier, I think that he would clear you for active duty."

Vesper smiled at him as she resumed a normal standing pose. "That is a relief," she said. "Although I do believe that the doctor needs to actually say that for that decision to come into effect." She walked over to Optimus, who was sitting underneath the tree that they'd stayed underneath for some time. Then she sat down and nestled into his side, and he smiled gently as he put his arm around her. They stayed like that for at least ten minutes, revelling in their contact and the warmth of the sunlight, before Vesper sighed and said, "We should really begin to find a way off of this small island."

Optimus frowned, then nodded. "I agree, although we were instructed to stay put." He looked up at the clouds that were drifting overhead. "But I can see that there is really no possible reason why we cannot give the others some assistance in locating us." He smiled as he stood, pulling Vesper to her own pedes as he did so. "Come on; we shall see what is on this island."

"Are we walking?" Vesper asked as Optimus' arm slid off of her shoulders and he started to head towards a nearby rocky outcrop. He stopped and looked back at her, nodding as a frown dawned on his face. When he inquired as to why she'd asked, she appropriately responded with, "This island may be small, but it could still be inhabited. We do need to remain hidden."

Optimus nodded. "Indeed. However," he said, looking around, "This island is quite remote. Using vehicular mode to get around is… conspicuous."

Vesper frowned. Then she nodded; Optimus was correct. "Alright. We will walk, then?" she asked, extending her hand to him. He took it with absolutely no hesitation, and she smiled as her spark fluttered within her spark chamber. They walked along the beach, heading towards the rocky outcrop, and soon found themselves standing right before the dreary grey stone. Optimus told his sparkmate to remain where she was as he pulled his hand gently from hers and started to climb up the cliff, and she watched as he deftly, gracefully ascended. She admired the way that he seemed to know what he was doing, and a small smile appeared on her face.

That smile disappeared, replaced with a horrified expression, when Optimus got to the top of the cliff, did some surveillance, and then proceeded to _jump_ _down_.

When he landed, Vesper was quick to run over to him. "Are you a fool?!" she exclaimed as he straightened up, acting like he hadn't just jumped off of a cliff. Granted, it wasn't a very big cliff face and he _was_ thirty-two feet tall, but Vesper didn't even take that into consideration. All she had seen was Optimus jump, and she doubted that Ratchet could just teleport to their location. If he'd been able to, he probably would have done so by now. "You could have hurt yourself! Are you injured?!"

Optimus smiled at her assuredly. "I am fine, Vesper. You worry unnecessarily," he said, striding over and hugged his sparkmate. He leaned his arms on her shoulders and looked down at her tenderly. "It is not the first time I have done something like that."

Vesper snorted angrily, then smiled forgivingly as she wrapped her arms around her sparkmate's waist. "I have never seen you do such a foolish thing," she said, her tone reminding Optimus of Ratchet, "But I never want you to do that again. You could have hurt yourself severely."

Optimus chuckled. "I am aware of that, my dear," he said, his voice gentle. "Also, would you like to hear my report about this island?"

It was a rather unsubtle change of subject, but Vesper welcomed it. "Of course. Considering we are stranded here."

Optimus smiled, never taking his optics from his sparkmate. "This island is smaller than we thought. It would take us mere hours to _walk_ around it." He frowned. "But it is very isolated. The nearest civilisation is… well, I do not know the answer to that one."

Vesper's optics widened. "You mean that there is no civilisation on this island at all?" she breathed, and Optimus nodded. That made Vesper feel quite disheartened, but at the same time she was glad. She was disheartened because it meant that they were well and truly isolated, but she was glad because it meant that she was truly alone with the one she loved. She was happy just being with him, but being alone with him gave her the chance to truly take in what she had, and it gave her time to truly feel blessed.

Of course, that feeling came to an abrupt, ugly end. That little voice in the back of her mind was whispering again, telling her things that she didn't want to believe. She stiffened in Optimus' embrace, and he immediately stepped back, pulling himself out of her arms, removing his arms from her shoulders and putting his servos on them instead. "Vesper?" he breathed worriedly as the femme squeezed her eyes shut and started to rapidly shake her head. "Vesper, is it… that voice again?" Optimus asked once Vesper's head-shaking had ceased, and she nodded before slumping.

"This is terrible," she breathed, her voice quaking. "I do not like this, Optimus; I feel as if it is ripping me apart from the inside."

Optimus didn't know what to say as he pulled Vesper into a tight hug. He hated the fact that something was hurting her, and as much as he'd promised to protect her from _everything_ that threatened to cause her harm, he had no idea how to protect her from her own mind!

Suddenly a cold gust of wind caused a shiver to run up Optimus' backstrut, and he shuddered before looking around. The sky had gotten eerily malicious-looking, and this caused the Prime to bite his lip in worry. "Vesper, we need to seek shelter," he advised, and Vesper – after looking up and seeing the ugly colour the sky was turning – nodded in agreement. They quickly ducked underneath a jutting part of the rock, and they were soon glad that they had; the heavens opened, and a torrential gush of rain poured forth.

Both of them were unimpressed, but they knew that if they stayed where they were, they were less likely to get drenched. They did get rained on a little bit, but mostly the two remained dry, and as they sat against the rock Optimus found himself wondering how long this storm was going to last for…

And he also found himself wondering what the others were doing.

Team Prime was mobilising. They were leaving the cacti-filled grove and driving back towards Jasper, Nevada. A dangerous move, they all knew that, but a necessary one. It was Wheeljack who had suggested that they return back to their possibly destroyed base to retrieve the one thing that could actually be used to fetch Optimus and Vesper: Ultra Magnus' personal ship.

"It's the only way I can think of that doesn't mean we have to pay a scrapheap of money for a cargo ship," he'd said, and it was those words that had finally convinced Ratchet and Ultra Magnus – the two in charge of the group in Optimus' absence – to return to their base.

Alice was sitting in Ratchet's cab, having a cheerful conversation with him about the concept of automotive shops, which he considered to be black market. Jack and June were in Wheeljack's cab, and each one of them was dead silent. Miko and Bulkhead were listening to Slash Monkey, while Raf was snoozing in Bumblebee's cab. Ultra Magnus was driving in front of the convoy, and he was keeping to himself, only speaking when spoken to.

They didn't know how long it was going to take for them to return to Jasper, but they were thankful they were still located in the United States of America. It was doubtful that any of them would have been able to handle being on another continent, or in another country, although Alice had mentioned that she wanted to go to Paris. Ratchet had snorted in amusement at that one.

"Guys," Arcee said after almost six hours of the convoy being on the road. "I think I need to stop. I'm falling asleep."

Ultra Magnus knew that it was no good to force the two-wheeler to continue. "Alright. We will find somewhere to stop for the night." The group decided that it was best for them to avoid civilisation, but civilisation seemed determined to find them.

More specifically, two people. A man and a woman that Alice had never wanted to see again. She cringed against the chair, and a part of Ratchet wanted to keep driving, but he knew that he had to obey Ultra Magnus' orders.

"Ultra Magnus, whatever you do, let me handle these two," Ratchet growled as he initiated his human holoform, pulling his main body over and turning off. The others followed his example, and when he said, "Initiate your human holoforms," everyone – including Ultra Magnus – did as they were asked.

And each and every one of them knew that, whatever was about to happen, it was not going to be pretty.


	35. Chapter 34

As Ratchet's human holoform stepped out of the car, Gregory and Elizabeth Darnell did the exact same thing. Bumblebee was quick to also step out, but he didn't leave his main body; he was just observing for now, ready to step in if he needed to. Ratchet stepped in front of the emergency vehicle he had taken the form of, and his face contorted into an angry scowl. He was not impressed that Alice's parents had managed to track their daughter down, especially because he wanted them to leave her alone. He should have known that they wouldn't; they were persistent people.

"Come to attempt to get your daughter back?" Ratchet scowled as Alice's parents walked over. "I won't let you have her. She deserves better than what you two are capable of giving her." He shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest. "So just try and get her back."

Gregory didn't need telling twice. He pulled something out of his pocket and pointed it right at Ratchet's human holoform's head. The medic knew that he should have been afraid, but for some reason he wasn't. The other members of Team Prime, however, were scared; they knew that a human holoform – as much as it was supposed to be a remote control vehicle – was able to be harmed and even killed. The bot, however, would only receive damage to their frame – they would not die – and lose their holoforms for long periods of time. That was still bad; if Ratchet didn't have use of his holoform, then blending in on Earth would be difficult, and compromises were more likely to occur.

"You have no right to take my daughter!" Gregory hissed, his eyes narrowed and his finger lightly touching the trigger of the pistol.

"Really now?" Ratchet asked, not scared even though the gun was pointed right between his eyes. "I think I have _every_ right to take her away from an environment that is detrimental to her." His eyes narrowed as Gregory and Elizabeth both stiffened. "And I know I'm right."

"So what if you're fucking _right_?" Elizabeth scowled, stalking forward until she was mere inches in front of Ratchet, ignoring the fact that her husband was now pointing his gun at _her_ head. "That is our daughter, and we have legal custody over her!"

Ratchet scowled. "She told me once that you didn't have custody over her and that she was taken out of that unhealthy environment," he said, still not unnerved. "And honestly, I don't know how you proved that you could care for her how she needed to be cared for."

That seemed to really anger Elizabeth, and Ratchet didn't even get time to react before Alice's mother swung her fist and slammed it into the medic's cheek. Ratchet cried out, more in alarm than pain (he had quite a good pain tolerance) and stumbled backwards. When he managed to stabilise himself, he gently touched his cheek and winced when a small jolt of pain went through it. Then he looked back at the woman and the man. Gregory had put his gun down and gave an unamused snort.

"You're not so tough," he said, walking over so that he was standing beside his wife. "Then again, you're an old geezer; we shouldn't have expected much from you." His voice was cold and gruff as he spoke, and while anger bloomed in Ratchet's spark (or, in his human holomatter's case, heart), he kept his face smooth and calm as he composed himself.

"I'm stronger than I appear to be," he said simply, which only served to infuriate Elizabeth and Gregory. "Besides, I don't think you want to mess with all of us," he said, looking back very briefly at the other members of Team Prime. Ultra Magnus' human holoform had gotten out of his truck and was now standing nearby, keeping a watchful eye on the event unfolding before him. Bee had clenched his hands, and Bulkhead and Arcee – whose human holoform was the only one to be named, holding the name Sadie – were still with their vehicles. Wheeljack, having June in the driver's seat of his car mode, was the only one who hadn't initialised human holoform, and frankly he preferred that. He didn't like using it.

Bumblebee walked over to Ratchet and deftly signed something to him, and Ratchet nodded, although didn't bother to translate what the bot's mute human form had said. It was not something that Alice's parents needed to know, and the other members of Team Prime had understood him well enough.

Raf had taken matters into his own hands, and had called the police. Now, all that Ratchet needed to was keep Elizabeth and Gregory Darnell busy until they actually showed. He did that successfully when he said, "Is that all you've got, anyway?" He snorted and crossed his arms over his chest again. "Because that was pathetic."

Gregory growled and thrust his gun into his wife's hands before stalking over, wrapping his hand around Ratchet's throat, and shoving Ratchet against the hood of his true body. Ratchet tried to suck in air as Gregory strangled him, but to no avail; the human man's grip was far too tight. Ratchet didn't necessarily need oxygen, but it was uncomfortable for him to not breathe, even if he didn't take anything in at all. Plus, it was better for Gregory to believe that he was strangling the life out of the medic; it gave the police more time.

Bee decided to make Gregory believe that he was killing Ratchet even more by running over and trying to tug the human man's hands off, but he was also doing that for another reason. The human holomatter form could only take so much strain, and then it would disappear. Bee was trying to relieve a bit of that strain, so Ratchet's disguise wouldn't be blown.

But it didn't work. Ratchet's hand started to flicker, and the medic's eyes widened as he realised what was happening mere seconds before he disappeared. Gregory's eyes widened in shock, and the rest of Team Prime were horrified.

"This is bad," Ultra Magnus hissed as he ran over to the emergency vehicle. Gregory, after realising that Ratchet was now out of the way, had started to stalk towards the vehicle Alice was cowering in, but he was stopped when Ultra Magnus leapt at him, tackling him to the ground. "Don't you touch her!" the warrior growled as Gregory tried to squirm and escape, but the lieutenant refused to let him. Ratchet reinitialised his human holoform and rubbed his neck, then looked at a stunned Elizabeth.

"Y-You…!" she gasped, pointing at Ratchet's human form in horror.

He smiled, although it came out as more of a grimace. "Yeah, that happens sometimes," he said just as the police pulled up. Ultra Magnus didn't look at them, still completely focused on holding Gregory down, but Elizabeth was still too stunned to event react to the police arresting her. Before they hauled her over to the car, Ratchet walked over and stopped them, then said, "If you tell anyone what you saw, I will hunt you down and kill you," in a voice so low and dangerous that only she heard. Then he walked back over to Gregory, who seemed stunned to see Ratchet again, and repeated what he'd said to Elizabeth.

After Ratchet walked back over to the passenger side door and spoke gently to Alice, Ultra Magnus dragged Gregory to his feet and handed him over to the police, who took him and put him in the car alongside his wife. Then, after each of the members of Team Prime answered a few questions (Bee was the only one exempt to this, as his human holoform was mute), the police departed.

That didn't calm Ratchet down, however. He was quite angry, and really wanted to chase them down. It was only his duty as an Autobot – to protect life, not to destroy it – that prevented him from going after them. He knew that Alice wanted them dead, and so did he. Irrationally so. He'd never wanted to kill someone so much, and as he got into the car, he tried his hardest not to chase after them.

A tap on his driver's side window startled him, and he looked over to see Ultra Magnus standing there. The clothes that his human holoform were wearing – nice, neat, semi-formal (which didn't match the truck driver description) – were all scruffy and dirty now, but he didn't appear to care about them. He had a concerned frown on his face, and Ratchet sighed as he rolled the window down.

"Do not, under any circumstances, go after them," he said, as a cold wind blew. It was beginning to get extremely dark, and Ultra Magnus knew that everyone would need to get some rest soon. "They will receive what they deserve, and it is the humans that must administer it."

Ratchet shook his head. "I can never forgive them," he said, looking over at Alice, who was looking in the direction the police cars had gone with a relieved expression on her face. Then he looked back at Ultra Magnus. "Not for what they did to her."

"As much as I do not know about past events, Ratchet," Ultra Magnus said, his voice kindly, "I can see that something terrible happened in Alice's past." He cast his optics over to the human girl, who looked away. "But you must refrain. We are robots in disguise, and if you killed a human…"

"I know," Ratchet said, grimacing. "I would be no better than a Decepticon. I'm aware." He shook his head. "But still, I just—"

"I understand that you want to protect her," Ultra Magnus said, his voice still soft, "But killing humans was not the way to do that. At least this way, they will be held away from her." He shook his head. "I am not happy with the fact they are alive, either, but this is the way that it must be done."

Ratchet sighed, but said nothing more on the matter. Ultra Magnus, after all, was correct, as much as he didn't want to admit it. Instead, he sighed and said, "Should I see if I can contact Optimus and Vesper again?"

Ultra Magnus, although a little shocked by the sudden change of topic, nodded brusquely. "Of course," he said, before turning on his heel and walking back over to his truck form. As soon as he reached it, the human holoform disappeared, but the truck didn't turn on; he was tired, and needed to recharge. The others went along with what he did, saying their goodnights as they de-initialised their human holoforms and went to sleep. The humans drifted off into sleep as well, which eventually left only Ratchet and Alice awake.

The two didn't speak immediately, as Ratchet attempted thrice to contact Optimus and Vesper, but there was little to no point… considering that the ones he was trying to contact were currently stuck in the middle of a raging storm.

They had been huddling under an alcove for the duration of the storm, praying to Primus himself that it would lighten up soon, but that didn't appear to be happening any time soon. In fact, it was getting worse; the rain was pouring down like Niagra Falls. The clouds were just getting uglier and darker, and the winds were picking up. Lightning lit up the sky at brief, second long intervals, and thunder rumbled.

Vesper whimpered as she buried her head into Optimus' side, and he sighed sadly and rubbed her shoulder. He could feel that the storm was not going to pass for some days, and that thought really worried him.

"Vesper, please," he said softly, his voice concerned and gentle. "It will be alright. I am here for you." _Even if that little voice in the back of your mind tells you otherwise_, he thought angrily. He hated that little voice for trying to ruin his sparkmate's life.

"Thank you, Optimus," Vesper sobbed. She hated thunder and lightning with a passion, always had been afraid of it. She was grateful that Optimus was with her, and she was trying her hardest not to let the voice ruin her happiness. It hadn't spoken again yet, but it was only a matter of time.

And Vesper dreaded that moment, for she knew not what it would say next.


	36. Chapter 35

_You think that that you're more than a plaything to him, Vesper?_ the voice in her head breathed, and she tried desperately to ignore it as she nestled against Optimus, who was sleeping peacefully. Vesper had found herself unable to sleep due to the thunderstorm, but she was taking comfort in the fact that she was wrapped in Optimus' arms. _He will use you, and then he will throw you away when he's sick of you_, the voice hissed, and Vesper squeezed her eyes shut. She didn't want to listen to that voice anymore, but she had no choice. It had been there since she'd been a sparkling, a dark spot, always commenting negatively whenever she was happy.

"N-No," she whimpered, trying to fight off the voice and trying to stop it from pervading her mind. "Leave me alone!" she whimpered as she buried her head into Optimus' chest, and she felt him tighten his grip around her. He did not, however, wake, and Vesper was grateful. Although she would have liked to talk to him about it, she knew that he would be unable to help, something that made him very miserable and made him feel useless.

_You can't escape, Vesper_, the voice breathed, and Vesper stiffened. _I will always be with you…_

"NO!" Vesper screamed, the loudness of her voice jolting Optimus out of whatever dream he'd been having. She sat up, roughly shrugging off Optimus' arms as she clutched her head. "LEAVE ME ALONE, PLEASE!" she screamed, shaking her head wildly and beginning to sob. Optimus' optics sparkled with fury; he hated the fact that Vesper was suffering and he could do absolutely nothing for her. That fury disappeared when Vesper stopped her wild movements and just sat limply on the ground, just sobbing. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his lap as he sat down.

"Shhh," he breathed as Vesper put her head against his chest, sobbing hysterically. However, she wasn't just sobbing; she was saying something underneath her breath in Cybertronian. He frowned and leaned next to her head, trying to find out what she was saying, and his eyes widened as soon as he heard what she was saying. He leaned away from her, his optics wide, but he said nothing. Instead he looked up to the skies and prayed that the others would find them soon.

The others had been on the move for at least an hour, and were almost at Jasper. Bulkhead and Bumblebee had both been instructed to take Miko and Raf home to tell their parents that they were fine, whereas Jack and Alice didn't need to do that. Ultra Magnus had also advised Team Prime that they get into contact with Agent Fowler, and Ratchet had decided that he would take care of that.

When each bot got to their respective destinations – Bulkhead to Miko's, Bee to Raf's, the others to the destroyed Autobot base – the majority of Team Prime was appalled by the devastation that had been wrought on their base. However, the base was not their real destination; they were going for something behind it. Ultra Magnus' ship had been untouched – it hadn't even been found by the Decepticons – and for that, Team Prime was grateful.

Ratchet, after making a call to Agent Fowler and explaining the situation to him, called Bulkhead and Bee, telling them to meet them behind the base. Bulkhead was able to, considering that Miko was in no trouble, but Bee was a different matter. Raf had been grounded by his parents for being away with no contact for so long, but somehow he managed to get out of it, and soon enough the four were reunited with the team.

"Alright," Ultra Magnus said once everyone was packed into his ship. As Ratchet was second-in-command due to Optimus' absence, he got to sit in the passenger seat, something that was also better for Alice due to her broken ankle. "Now, we'll start our search for Optimus and Vesper."

"Do we even know where they are?" June asked, frowning.

"No," Ultra Magnus admitted sheepishly. "However, we should be able to find them if we fly over the ocean. There aren't many islands through the open seas, I would hope," he said, and everyone fell silent as Ultra Magnus' ship took off, and they flew towards the open oceans in search of their missing comrades…

Finding Optimus and Vesper, however, was more difficult than Team Prime had initially anticipated. For hours they flew over the oceans, keeping high in the sky to avoid detection, but every island that they flew over was completely deserted. There was only one that they hadn't checked, one that was in the midst of a giant storm, but Ultra Magnus couldn't go too close; cumulonimbus clouds were dangerous to fly through, and if Ultra Magnus went any lower, he risked the team getting found.

"Scrap," Ratchet hissed as he looked out of the window for what seemed to be the zillionth time. Alice had fallen asleep on his lap, and everyone else had remained quiet for the duration of the journey. They had no idea what they could say, other than ideas on where to go next, but they'd exhausted all of their options earlier. The only place to look now was the one place that none of them could get to: the island with the cumulonimbus cloud covering it.

"We can't fly through that," Wheeljack said, his voice quivering with what seemed to be nervousness. Ultra Magnus nodded in agreement, not needing Wheeljack to elaborate; he was fully aware of what could happen. A storm cloud like that would be a nightmare to fly through, and the risk of damage was a great one. But there was really no alternative other than flying low, close to the ocean waves, which was not something anyone wanted to do for fear of being seen by strangers.

"We may have no choice," Arcee scowled. There was nothing around, but that didn't mean the bots felt any safer. She looked over at Ultra Magnus, who was just making the ship hover for now. He was gazing down at the menacing cloud, biting his lip and pondering his next move. "Sir, what are we going to do?"

Ultra Magnus looked back at her and, by default, the others. "We have no choice," he said. "Flying through that cloud is the only way to avoid being spotted by humans…" Then he pointed to something out of the window. "And to avoid being detected by _them_."

Everyone looked in the direction Ultra Magnus was pointing, and in unison their eyes and optics widened as they saw the _Nemesis_ floating a fair distance away. Ratchet immediately turned to Ultra Magnus and hissed, "Do whatever you have to, just get us away from that thing!"

The warrior nodded and grabbed the controls of the ship, then pushed them down. The ship began to descend, and headed straight into the depths of the cumulonimbus cloud. Wheeljack was horrified, but knew that this was the best course of action unless the group wanted to be blown out of the sky by the Decepticons. Of course, flying through the storm was not the best course of action, or the safest. Lightning cracked and flashed all around them, and it was a testament to Ultra Magnus' piloting skills that he managed to _not_ get struck by lightning. Thunder rumbled and crashed every so often, freaking out the humans, and making Alice especially whimper as she huddled in Ratchet's lap.

"Don't fret," Ratchet said, looking down at her and frowning. "We'll be fine."

Alice would have believed him in any other situation. But as a bright flash emanated and a jolt went through the ship, Ratchet found himself regretting his words and Alice found herself not believing them as the ship began to spiral downwards uncontrollably. Alarms were ringing in the interior and Ultra Magnus was trying with all of his strength to regain control, but the controls were jerked out of his servos.

"Scrap!" he yelled, before turning to the others and yelling, "Brace for impact!"

The others hurried to hang on to something and protect the humans at the same time. Wheeljack grabbed June and hugged her close to his chassis before steeling himself. Bulkhead, Bee, Ratchet and Arcee all followed suit, grabbing their human charges and holding them close as they prepared for a crash landing.

It was a crash landing, alright. The nose of the ship dipped just at the last minute, and Ultra Magnus found himself recoiling in terror as the ship slammed into the wet sand. It didn't skid along the ground, however; the whole ship flipped and _then_ landed. The ordeal was a nightmarish one; bot and human alike were thrown all over the joint, getting dents and bruises everywhere.

Smoke rose from the ship as Team Prime collected themselves. Their ordeal had not gone unnoticed, either; Vesper and Optimus were staring with wide optics at the vessel, stunned that it had actually survived such a landing.

Optimus slowly rose to his pedes, leaving his sparkmate sitting under the alcove as he ventured into the rain. He flinched as it touched him but still made his way over to the crashed vessel, peering in the window to see everyone shaking their heads and Ratchet making sure that nobody was seriously injured. It was the medic who actually turned to see Optimus, and he grinned before turning to Ultra Magnus and saying something that the Prime failed to hear.

Eventually the others were standing in front of Optimus, getting absolutely drenched because of the storm, but none of them cared. They were all just happy to see their leader alive. Ratchet, however, was more concerned about Vesper, because he'd noticed that she was avoiding looking at the others. He told Alice to talk to Optimus before walking over to Optimus' sparkmate and kneeling down in front of her.

"Vesper?" he asked, and the femme jumped before looking at him, cyan optics wide with alarm. "How are you?" he asked before she could say anything, and she frowned.

"I am fine, Doctor," she said, keeping her tone smooth and polite.

Ratchet didn't believe her for a second, but didn't push it. Instead, he asked, "Can you walk properly, or do you still need rehabilitation?"

Vesper seemed a little happier to answer that. "My leg is quite fine," she said, a gentle smile appearing on her face. "Optimus has been assisting me."

The doctor looked back over at the rest of the group, who were all asking Optimus a myriad of questions. He seemed to be happy to answer them all, and Ratchet felt a small smile appear on his face as he turned back to Vesper. "Well, that's good." Then he stood. "Come on; we'll get you guys into the ship and take you off of this tiny island."

"Is that ship even capable of flying anymore?" Vesper asked as she stood and walked out of the alcove, wincing when the rain touched her. She walked over until she was standing beside Optimus, who looked down at her with a smile on his face. The femme smiled in return, but Ratchet noticed the worried gleam in the optics of both bots. He said nothing, however, and looked over at Ultra Magnus.

"Can we still get out of here?" he asked, and the warrior nodded, although he did have a frown on his face.

"Yes, but we won't be able to gain much altitude," he said, looking back at his damaged vessel. "We'll be an easy target."

"What do you mean?" Optimus and Vesper said at the exact same time. This earned them a funny look from everyone, which they promptly ignored. Optimus repeated the question, this time alone, and Ultra Magnus informed the two of the _Nemesis_' proximity.

"We have to get out of here soon, though," Jack said, and everyone looked over at him. The human boy had a concerned expression on his face, one that reminded Team Prime of Optimus whenever he was concerned. "We have no idea how long this storm is going to last for, and the more time we spend here…"

"The closer the Decepticons get," Raf finished, shivering.

Ratchet nodded. "Indeed. I—" He cut off whatever he was going to say when he noticed that someone was missing, and he frowned before looking at Bulkhead and asking, "Hey, where's Miko?"

The olive green bot pointed to her. "Over there, by the water."

This seemed to alarm June. "Miko, get back over here now!" she yelled, an angry expression appearing on her face, but Miko didn't seem to be listening. "You'll get swept out to sea if you go into the water during this storm!"

"I'll be fine, trust me!" Miko exclaimed, smiling cheekily. She was absolutely soaked due to not being sheltered by her guardian, and now June was becoming worried that the young Japanese girl was going to get hypothermia. She didn't voice her concerns, however; Miko wasn't going to listen anyway.

"Miko, please," Optimus suddenly said, gaining the girl's attention, "Get out of the water. It is not safe."

Miko groaned, but complied. She walked over to Bulkhead and picked her socks and shoes up (which were soaked), but didn't put them back on. Ultra Magnus, after Miko had returned to the group, decided that it would be best to start heading back to the mainland, and began to hustle everyone towards his ship.

He didn't give voice to the turmoil inside of his spark. He was worried, deathly so, that they wouldn't be able to escape from the nearby _Nemesis_…

Mainly because, with his ship's systems damaged as they were, they would definitely _not_ be able to get away.


	37. Chapter 36

"So how," Wheeljack asked as he and Ultra Magnus looked at the damaged engine of the ship, "Are we going to fix this?"

The two of them had been attempting to repair what they could, and they'd managed to do that, although they were now stuck trying to fix up the engine, which had taken the brunt of the lightning bolt. The others were seeking shelter inside of the vessel, repairing the inside and helping wherever they could. Ratchet had made sure to give both Optimus and Vesper a thorough check, and had declared both of them completely healthy… well, at least, physically healthy.

"I have no idea," Ultra Magnus admitted, before sighing and replacing the panel that had revealed the engine. Wheeljack looked at him with an unamused expression, but said nothing more as the warrior turned on his heel and walked back inside. The others were sitting around and chatting among themselves, being quiet about it. They all fell silent as Ultra Magnus walked in and over to the control system, then sat down in the pilot's seat as Wheeljack strode in. The entrance to the ship slid closed, and the vessel rumbled before the systems came online.

Wheeljack turned to look at everyone. "We're unable to repair the engine," he explained, looking nervously over at Ultra Magnus, who had his familiar neutral expression on his face. "We have to get off of this joint, though, so we're flying low and hoping to Primus that the Decepticons don't find us."

Vesper frowned. "Our escape is not ensured, is it?" she asked, looking over at her former bodyguard, who merely shrugged and didn't give her a verbal answer. She shivered but said nothing more as Optimus put his servo on her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze; her response was to reach up and put her own servo on top of his.

As the ship flew forward, Team Prime's members found themselves beginning to worry intensely. The _Nemesis_ was still floating nearby, and to get back to the mainland Ultra Magnus would have to direct his ship _directly underneath it_. When he informed the others of this, they were all very alarmed, but they had no other option, not with the ship's damage. If they tried to go around, Ultra Magnus was unsure if the ship would make it back to land.

They flew low, the blue colour of the ship giving them a bit of comfort, but it wasn't enough. They were about to be in the clear – flying underneath the _Nemesis_ had been a success, although it had been worrisome – when the ship's detection systems picked something up. Something was flying after Team Prime, something that flew extremely fast. It was purple and thin, and Ultra Magnus internally cursed as he realised what – or, rather, _who_ – it was.

"Isn't that Soundwave?" Raf gulped as he looked at the purple MQ-9 Reaper that was flying towards them. Nobody answered as Soundwave opened fire, and Ultra Magnus pulled the controls to the left sharply, which caused the ship to veer, allowing Ultra Magnus's ship to avoid Soundwave's shots. The lieutenant, however, was aware that his continual sharp movements were straining the ship's engines, and as he gritted his teeth he swerved to avoid yet _another_ blast… although this one was not completely avoided.

"Scrap!" Ultra Magnus hissed as the very back of his ship was clipped by Soundwave's blast, and the ship started to dip on one side. He tried to gain a bit more altitude, knowing that if they touched the water they would be scrapped, but it was too late. They touched the water and started to bounce. With a shudder the engines of the ship shut off, and everyone braced for impact.

The ship's nose dipped then, and the ship flipped as it slammed into the water. Soundwave, content that he'd managed to shut the ship down, landed on top of it and transformed back into his robot mode. Then he opened a Ground Bridge – being the only one able to do that without use of any form of structure – and waited patiently as Megatron flew through it.

Inside the ship, everybody was out cold, but that was good for the two Decepticons. Megatron smiled viciously as he ripped a large hole in the ship and reached in, not caring who he pulled out. He actually pulled out Vesper, who was dripping energon from a wound on her head, and his smile grew wider.

"Perfect," Megatron hissed, turning to look at Soundwave and holding Vesper up by the arm. "Now that we have Haeres' student back…" He trailed off, not finishing whatever he was going to say. Instead he handed Vesper to Soundwave before transforming and flying back to the _Nemesis_. Soundwave needed to only wait for a few minutes for some Vehicons to show up and retrieve the rest of the Autobots.

Soundwave transformed, using his tentacles to keep a hold of Vesper, before flying back to the Decepticon vessel. The Vehicons followed after retrieving the rest of Team Prime's members, humans included, and, on Megatron's orders, placed them in cells. Ratchet and Alice were put together, Bumblebee and Raf were put together, Bulkhead and Miko were put together, Arcee, June and Jack were put together, and Wheeljack, Ultra Magnus and Optimus were put in different cells. The only one who was _not_ put into a cell was Vesper; she was taken elsewhere, to the room she had slept in during her time as a Decepticon. A cruel move on Megatron's part, but the warlord didn't care; he wanted her to be fearful and upset, for it made her more likely to give him the information he so desired.

She woke up after a few hours, her head pounding, and as she slowly took in her surroundings she began to panic. She was alone, in a room that she recognised, and it didn't help that it was dark. She scrambled backwards until she was in a corner, her back pressed against the wall and quiet whimpers escaping from her lips. She curled into a ball, hugging her knees to her chassis, and wondered what was going to happen to her.

The door opened then, and Vesper slowly looked up to see a single, glaring red optic. Her own cyan optics widened in horror as she tried to scramble backwards, but being pressed against the wall didn't help her in that endeavour.

"You are Vesper, the Decepticon traitor and student of the engineer Haeres," the 'Con said, his red optic seemed to burn a hole right through the femme's spark. He said nothing more to her, which only served to unnerve Vesper even more than she already was.

Shockwave held up a purple cord then, and Vesper's eyes widened as she realised that he was going to use a cortical psychic patch on her. "STAY AWAY!" she screamed, trying to get away as Shockwave stomped ever menacingly closer. She was shaking badly, and her spark was beating at an extremely rapid rate as the cyclopean 'Con took one step towards her at a time…

Meanwhile, in the _Nemesis_' holding cells, Optimus was shooting and punching the wall, trying to get out of the cell. He could feel Vesper's fear, and it angered and scared him. He was desperate to not let Shockwave harm her, and as he started to leak energon from the knuckles, he felt Vesper's fear grow. Then he heard a piercing scream – the words, "STAY AWAY!" – and his desperation grew even more.

"Vesper!" Optimus cried, pounding on the wall. He was unable to break through it, and that thought terrified him.

It did not, however, terrify him as much as being sucked into his sparkmate's mind when she was being subjected to a cortical psychic patch. His body stiffened and his optics rolled back in his head before he collapsed…

_And found himself standing in some sort of murky blackness._

_He looked around, his optics wide, not seeing anything but grey, wispy clouds floating around. He couldn't even hear anything, and he didn't quite know what to make of that. The silence only lasted for a few minutes, however; he soon heard sobbing, and his audio processors whirred before he headed in the direction of the sound, determined to find the cause of it. He'd heard those sobs before, and he broke into a run as they started to get louder._

_He eventually skidded to a stop when he saw Vesper kneeling on the ground. Shockwave was standing over her, his arm cannon pointed at her head, and Optimus' eyes flashed as red as the cyclopean 'Con's singular optic. He clenched his servos as he heard Shockwave say, "Now, tell me this: what else did you steal from us when you betrayed us?"_

_"__Nothing!" the femme sobbed, the misery and fear in her voice breaking Optimus' spark._

_"__Your answer is illogical," Shockwave said, his voice cold and dangerous. His cannon began to glow, and Optimus' optics widened as he realised that the 'Con was about to shoot the vulnerable femme._

_"__NO!" Optimus screamed as he jumped forward, both servos transforming into blades as he leapt. Shockwave whipped around to face the angry Prime only to get a blade to the eye. Optimus plunged one of his swords into the 'Con's single optic, shattering it and causing an unearthly screech to come from Shockwave. Then, as he pulled his blade from Shockwave's damaged optic, he ran over to Vesper and knelt down near her. "Vesper, come on!" he exclaimed as the dark, murky world around them started to feel like it was closing in on them._

_Vesper shakily looked up at her sparkmate, then around at the murkiness. "Wh-Wha—"_

_"__This place is falling apart!" Optimus exclaimed. "Pull yourself out of the patch!"_

_Vesper nodded, then closed her eyes. She phased out of existence, and Optimus breathed a sigh of relief before doing the same, leaving Shockwave trapped._

When he opened his eyes and sat up, the first thing he noticed was Ultra Magnus kneeling over him. The warrior had a concerned frown on his face, but it changed a relieved smile when Optimus' optics snapped open. The Prime was a bit confused, seeing as Ultra Magnus had been placed in a different cell, but his curiosity was laid to rest when the warrior said, "They didn't take my hammer."

Optimus nodded. "That is good; we can get out of here," he said.

Ultra Magnus nodded. "We've been mobile for a while, so hopefully we're above land." He stood and helped Optimus to his pedes, then turned on his heel…

And was socked, hard, in the face, which sent him flying into the wall.


	38. Chapter 37

"AGH!" Ultra Magnus cried as his back slammed against the wall, and then he slumped to the floor. Optimus was alarmed by this and went to run over to his lieutenant, but found himself with his cheek slammed against the wall, a large servo wrapped around his throat. He struggled in the grip of his assailant, but was unable to get out.

"You're not getting away from me alive, Prime," Megatron's low, dangerous voice hissed in Optimus' audio processor, and the Prime stiffened as he realised that he'd been attacked by the Decepticon leader. He couldn't see the look on Megatron's face, but he knew that it had to be one of pure rage. After all, Ultra Magnus had managed to break free of his cell, and it had been mere hours since they'd all been captured and taken prisoner.

Abruptly Optimus got thrown roughly to the floor, and he yelped as one of Megatron's pedes slammed down on his back, pressing him to the floor and disabling any attempts of getting up that he might have attempted, lest he damage his backstrut. A groan from Ultra Magnus made Optimus look over at the lieutenant, who was dragging himself to his pedes and leaning heavily against the wall for support. The Prime wanted to tell Ultra Magnus to get out of the room, but that in itself was an impossibility considering that Megatron was standing in front of the door.

Ultra Magnus snarled at Megatron as he finally regained his composure, and he summoned his hammer to his hand. The Decepticon warlord seemed a bit alarmed to see the Magnus Hammer, and it was that alarm that the lieutenant took advantage on. The plating on his fingers moving aside and exposing the conduits on his fingers, Ultra Magnus swung the hammer, channelling electricity through it. He slammed it into Megatron's chin, which served to knock him off of Optimus _and_ cause a large amount of voltage to spread through the 'Con's body. A sound that was a combination of a roar and a screech came forth from Megatron's lips as he flew into the air and slammed into the roof, then dropped to the floor with a dull thud.

"Optimus, sir, are you alright?" Ultra Magnus said, covering the conduits as he walked over to the Prime, who was only now beginning to get up. Optimus nodded, which relieved Ultra Magnus, and he said, "I will break the others out. You go find Vesper."

Optimus didn't need telling twice. Thanking Ultra Magnus for the save, he hurried out of the room and ran down the _Nemesis_' corridors, fighting off whatever came between him and his sparkmate. More often than not he encountered Vehicons, but just before he reached the corridor that Vesper's 'cell' was in, he skidded to a stop. Soundwave was standing right in front of him, silently staring. He was relaxed, his arms by his sides, and Optimus immediately began to feel a little nervous. It was to be expected, to be nervous while facing Soundwave. The silent Decepticon was a force to be reckoned with, having been a previous Kaon gladiator that had almost defeated the mighty Megatron in battle.

The door of Vesper's 'cell' opened them, and Shockwave walked out. That was even worse of a situation. Shockwave was physically unharmed, and as the creator of the cortical psychic patch he knew how it worked; he had probably managed to avoid being mentally damaged when Optimus had stabbed him in the optic and had knocked him out in the 'dream'.

Shockwave and Soundwave stood side-by-side, neither of them uttering a single word. It was two powerful Decepticons against a single Prime, and while Optimus was strong he doubted that he could win against a proficient Kaon gladiator and a highly intelligent, dangerously armed Decepticon scientist. The only weapons that Optimus possessed were two blasters and two blades, which weren't going to help him much.

Suddenly he heard footsteps, and initially he believed that more 'Cons were on their way. His relief was enormous when he saw that it was his fellow Autobots. Ratchet was in vehicle mode, and the others were in robot mode. The humans were all huddled in Ratchet while the others faced off against the two powerful 'Cons, who didn't stand down even though they were outnumbered.

Bumblebee beeped something, and Optimus nodded in agreement. "It seems as if they will do anything to keep at least one of us," he said, although he wasn't too happy to admit that, especially when it was his sparkmate that they were trying to keep. "But they will not be keeping anyone." He clenched his servos. "This I swear with all of my spark."

"You will not be able to take her," Shockwave suddenly said, his voice even. His red optic seemed to bore a hole right through Optimus, but the Prime refused to back down. He _refused_ to give in underneath their scrutiny, and gave both 'Cons a venomous glare in return.

Wheeljack snorted as he removed his dual katanas from his back – how he still had them could be attributed to Vehicon stupidity, as it was blatantly obvious that Wheeljack had been carrying weapons and they _still_ hadn't taken them from him – and held them in front of him. "You're not gonna be able to keep her!" he yelled as he leapt towards the two 'Cons.

Vesper, sitting in the room, was huddled against one of the walls when she heard the sound of metal slicing metal. Her cyan optics widened with curiosity, and she cocked her head to the side as she listened. She began to hear gunshots as well, and she wondered what was happening. Her curiosity, however, was curbed by her fear; she didn't know what was going out there, and she didn't want to find out in case she got killed or something.

Suddenly the noises stopped, and Vesper's spark pounded in her chest. She swallowed, and fear began to course through her veins. Her tank began to churn, and she felt a little sick. She had no idea what had happened out there, and while she prayed that nobody from Team Prime had been injured, she knew that she was hoping for a bit too much.

Somebody had been injured, and it wasn't good. Optimus was leaning near Bumblebee, whose optics were quite dim. Energon was pulsing from a massive wound in the scout's abdomen, and he was trying to apply pressure, which wasn't easy. Ratchet, currently with the humans inside of his altmode, couldn't really help; all the medic could really do was give advice and try to teach Optimus how to stop the energon loss. The others were trying to defend the Prime, who was trying to keep Bee online, but they did need a bit of extra firepower, which wasn't able to be provided.

"Bee…," Raf whimpered, looking out of Ratchet's window.

"He'll be fine," the medic said, trying to reassure the young human, but he didn't even convince himself. This had been the worst injury Bee had ever received, and with no base and no medical supplies to go back to, the chances of Bee surviving were incredibly slim. Even though Ratchet had his triage kit – he'd managed to grab it before he'd been forced to depart from the base for the last time – he didn't have any spare energon, which Bee would need if he survived. "But we won't!" Ratchet suddenly exclaimed, noticing that Soundwave was directing his attention towards the medic, who reversed as Soundwave stalked forward. "Scrap, we're—"

He fell silent. His mouth would have been gaping and his optics boggling if he'd been in robot mode… mainly because Soundwave collapsed to the ground, out stone cold. Everyone stopped fighting and looked over at the fallen 'Con, quite surprised… but none of them were as surprised as Optimus, who had only seen Soundwave fall considering that he was trying to save Bee.

Soundwave has stepped directly in front of the door to Vesper's 'cell', which had opened it. Vesper had taken her chance, and – moving quicker than she ever had before – she'd pressure pointed the silent Decepticon, which had caused him to fall unconscious and drop to the ground.

Shockwave was so astounded that Vesper managed to take advantage of his surprise. She leapt towards him and, putting her Metallikato training to good use, performed a quick roundhouse kick and smashed Shockwave's single optic with the very tip of her pede. Then she landed on the ground, splayed out and keeping her eyes trained on Shockwave as he stumbled around, blind. As Ultra Magnus summoned his hammer and slammed it into the side of the Decepticon scientist's head – effectively knocking him out – Vesper stood to her full height and smiled. Then she looked over at the other Autobots, and as she noticed Bee's injury, her smile fell as she ran over.

"You have no idea what you are doing," Vesper noted as she knelt down next to Optimus, who was beginning to panic. He was doing a good job on hiding his panic, however; only Vesper knew that he was freaking out. "Here, let me do it." She brushed his hands aside and applied pressure in the correct places; her martial arts training had taught her exactly where to apply pressure in the event of a serious wound. Ratchet was especially curious about this, considering that he usually had to teach the others how to do this, but he was also relieved that Vesper seemed to know a small amount of medical knowledge.

When she managed to stabilise Bee and limit the energon flow, she looked at Optimus, who could only utter a simple, "Wow." She smiled softly at him, but said nothing as the Prime gathered Bee up and looked at the rest of the group. "Let us go," he said, and everyone nodded (save for Ratchet and Bee, who obviously couldn't) before following Optimus. Ultra Magnus returned his hammer to his subspace and transformed his servos into blasters in order to give Optimus a bit of cover, which came in handy the nearer they got to the very top of the Decepticon vessel.

When they got to the top, Team Prime's members were all very glad to see that they were over land, although they had no real idea how to actually get off without either using a Ground Bridge or jumping off and killing themselves when they hit the ground.

A sharp intake of breath made every conscious member of Team Prime look over at Vesper, whose optics were wide with anger and horror as she gazed at something. They all followed her gaze, and each one of them was quite alarmed. They couldn't believe their eyes, and Alice actually opened Ratchet's door and hobbled out to get a closer look. The rest of the kids and June followed her example, allowing Ratchet to transform and get a closer look himself.

"It cannot be…," Vesper breathed, falling to her knees. "This was never supposed to happen…"

"Well it did, my dear," a smooth voice said, and Vesper stiffened in horror. She recognised the voice, and hadn't heard it for a long, long time. She slowly turned her head, her gaze settling on a dark green bot with a shining Decepticon symbol right in the middle of his chassis. "Although it would never have been possible… if you hadn't activated the self-destruct sequence."

Optimus, recognising the stranger from Vesper's memories, set Bumblebee down near Ratchet and walked over to his sparkmate, his turquoise optics blazing with fury… and confusion. "How are you standing before us?" he asked, his voice an angry growl.

The Decepticon smiled a calm smile. "I have Shockwave to thank for that." He walked over to the cannon and put his hand on it. "And I have you, my dear Vesper, to thank for me being able to rebuild and increase the cannon's efficiency."

Vesper was horrified as she slowly got to her pedes. "You are mad!" she exclaimed.

"Mad?" the 'Con mused, then laughed. "Oh no, my dear, I am perfectly sane. It is you who is mad," he said, his voice going from light and chatty to dark and unamused within the blink of an eye. "You are the one who betrayed the only logical cause."

"The Decepticon cause is not a logical one!" Vesper argued. "All Megatron wants to do is oppress Cybertronians and bend them to his will!" She shook her head. "The Autobots strive for peace, for Cybertron to be free! Are you so blind that you cannot see that you have been misled?!"

The 'Con shook his head slowly. "It is you who has been misled, my dear," he said. Then he cast his red optics towards Optimus, whose servos were clenched and whose teeth were grit. His eyes flashed as soon as he laid eyes on the Prime, and the corners of his mouth turned upwards ever so slightly. "I expected as much. You trust too easily."

"What exactly," Vesper said, her voice frosty, "Are you getting at?"

Her sudden change in demeanour confused the members of Team Prime, who all looked over at her. Even Optimus couldn't help but glance at her, biting his lip and wondering why she had become so cold.

The stranger's optics flashed with amusement. "You have been lied to. He doesn't love you."

This caused everyone to be quite shocked and alarmed. Optimus' optics widened, then he scowled. "You are lying!" he hissed angrily, and the 'Con looked over at the Prime, still possessing an amused expression.

"Am I?" the stranger said, his eyes flashing with something far darker than mere amusement. "Tell her that." He gestured to Vesper, and Optimus looked over to see that she had a blank expression on her face. Inside of her spark, there was a war going on. On one servo, she believed what the Decepticon was saying, but on the other servo she knew that Optimus' feelings for her were genuine.

"Vesper?" Optimus asked, tentatively going over to her. Everyone watched him closely, wondering what he would do. "Vesper, are you alright?" he asked, his tone laced with worry as he put his servo on her shoulder. She looked up at him, feeling the light pressure on her shoulder, and frowned.

"Am I…," Vesper breathed, her voice shaking with sadness, "Worth anything to you?"

Optimus was taken aback by this, and he was utterly mortified by what Vesper had just uttered. "Of course!" he said immediately. "You are everything to me!"

"Touching," the Decepticon mused, his optics flashing again. "But you could just be saying that, in order to keep her on your side."

"Shut up!" Wheeljack suddenly yelled, the first time any of the others had spoken for some time. The Wrecker pointed one of his katanas at the 'Con, who seemed shocked to see him there. "Stop with your fragging mind games, Haeres! They're pathetic!"

"You sound as if you know this 'Haeres' personally," Alice mused, hobbling over. Ratchet looked at her, a frown on his face, but wasn't too worried about her. She seemed to be holding up well. "Care to explain?"

Wheeljack nodded, scowling. "Haeres is Vesper's former mentor."

Hearing that caused Optimus' anger to grow, and he snarled before looking back over at Haeres, who was standing there with that disgustingly amused expression. "You are Vesper's mentor?" he asked, trying to keep his voice from quaking with his rage and failing miserably.

Haeres smirked. "I was, yes," he confirmed.

Optimus' eyes flashed, but they were not their familiar turquoise this time. He turned on his heel so that he was facing Haeres, and the Decepticon's amused expression disappeared. He recoiled in horror as he noticed that Optimus' blue optics were now red, and the other members of Team Prime also backed off, knowing that it was probably best if they didn't get in the way of the furious Prime.

As Optimus' hand changed into a blade, he roared, "I will rip you apart!" and leapt forward. Haeres ducked to the side, but didn't completely avoid the Prime, who swiftly turned on the ball of his pede and stabbed Haeres in the shoulder. The 'Con yelped in pain, then grunted as Optimus' other servo curled into a fist and slammed into Haeres' face. The 'Con flew backwards, slamming into the weapon that he'd rebuilt, and then he slumped to the ground. Optimus didn't stop there, however; he stalked forward and pressed his pede down on Haeres' throat, his face twisted into a snarl that would have even the emotionless Soundwave fleeing in terror. "I will kill you for your transgressions against my sparkmate, whom I cherish and love beyond everything else!" He applied a bit more pressure to Haeres' neck, and his optics flashed as he heard the Decepticon yelp in pain. "And I will not give you mercy. Your demise will be slow, and it will be painful. You deserve nothing less than that."

"Optimus!" a feminine voice suddenly said, and Optimus looked out of his peripheral vision to notice Vesper looking at him, an alarmed expression on her face. "It is alright! You do not need to offline him!"

"You are wrong, Vesper," Optimus said. It was clear that his anger was clouding his judgement far too much for him to be reasoned with. "He deserves to feel agony! He deserves to die!"

"Nobody deserves that!" the femme said, running over and wrapping her hands around Optimus' arm. "Nobody deserves to die, Optimus! Please do not do this!" She took her hands from Optimus' arm, surprising everyone, but she surprised them even more when she wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head in the small of his back. "This is not right, so please… Do not do this," she pleaded, her voice a soft sob.

Optimus' emotions warred within him, but eventually his optics returned to their turquoise colour, and he removed his foot from Haeres' throat. As Vesper released him, Optimus turned around and smiled gently at her. The others were just amazed that the femme had managed to do what most of them would have been far too fearful to do.

Of course, releasing Haeres had been a bad thing to do… for he pulled something out of his personal subspace and clicked it. And as soon as he did, Vesper screamed as pain exploded throughout her entire body.


	39. Chapter 38

"Vesper!" Optimus cried, catching the femme as she stopped screaming in agony and collapsed to the ground. Her body was convulsing, and the Prime began to panic as he cradled her in his arms. "Vesper, respond, please!" he cried, his voice thick with horror and fear. He trailed his fingers along her cheek as she stopped convulsing so violently and just twitched. Her optics had rolled back in her head, and she was utterly unresponsive.

The other members of Team Prime watched sadly as Optimus tried to rouse his sparkmate, but he was having very little success in that endeavour. Haeres, standing near the cannon, had a small smirk on his face, the device hanging between two of his fingers. He was the only one who knew what he'd done, but as he turned on his heel he laughed. Everyone – minus Bumblebee and Vesper, for obvious reasons – looked over at him, and Ratchet felt his servos clench as he took a step forward.

"What have you done to Vesper?!" he yelled, demanding to know what had happened. Alice and the other humans all huddled behind Wheeljack and Bulkhead as Haeres turned back to the others and flashed them an innocent smile. "Answer me!" Ratchet roared, one of his servos transforming into a blade as he pointed at the green Decepticon.

"You shall see soon enough," was the cryptic response that everyone received before Haeres turned again and walked away, leaving Team Prime alone on top of the _Nemesis_. Nobody really knew what that meant, but none of them could care. They all just wanted to know what had happened, and if waiting was the only way to figure out, then they were prepared to wait as long as they needed to.

They waited for what seemed like hours. Optimus had Vesper lying on the ground, just maintaining a vigilant eye on her, and every so often he spoke to the others… but only if spoken to. Alice and Ratchet were sitting near to him, offering him comfort, and the others were sitting near Bumblebee, who was not awake and probably wouldn't wake for a while.

Vesper finally began to stir, and Optimus found himself intensely relieved as her optics – still their beautiful cyan – began to open. His relief disappeared and was replaced with confusion when he tried to see what she was thinking of… and found himself unable to. This puzzled him; ever since they'd met, Optimus had found himself able to feel Vesper's emotions and look into her mind… but now he couldn't.

So, he opted for the next best thing. "Vesper?" he breathed as the femme slowly sat up, seeming a little dazed. "It is me, Optimus," he said, putting his servo on her shoulder. She slowly turned her head and gazed down at his hand, then her optics trailed up his arm and fixated on his face. He smiled gently, hiding the fact that he was getting more and more troubled by being unable to get any sort of emotion or thought from her. The others were relieved that she was awake, even if she seemed to be a little blank, and were completely unaware that something seemed to be wrong.

That changed when Vesper's expression became ominously dark, and she hissed, "Get your servo off of me, Prime." Optimus was alarmed by the venom in her voice, and the specific emphasis on the word 'Prime'. But he was even more alarmed when Vesper's own servo snaked out, wrapped around his wrist and twisted it in a way that caused Optimus to howl in pain and try to jerk away. Everyone's eyes widened, and Ratchet leapt to help, but Vesper released her current victim and – taking use of the martial arts training she'd had – quickly jumped up and kicked Ratchet back. She landed on the palms of her hands, then flipped around so that she was somewhat crouched on the ground.

"What's gotten into her?!" Alice exclaimed as she hobbled over to Ratchet, who had landed heavily on his back and was groaning in pain. The medic slowly sat up and rubbed his lower back, one of his eyes squeezed shut and his teeth grit.

"I don't know, but she's not the Vesper she was before," he said, attempting to stand. The other bots had jumped to the defence of Bee and the humans, who were all terrified and unsure of what was going on. Nobody really knew what was happening; the sweet, shy femme that they'd grown accustomed to had just attacked the one she had seemed to love with all of her spark. That was odd to them. Actually, her directly attacking anyone unless provoked was odd.

"Vesper, are you alright?" Optimus asked, his voice calm, as if he was talking to a confused sparkling. He placed his hands in front of him, palms facing Vesper, showing her that he wasn't going to harm her.

"I am fine," Vesper said, her voice dark and filled with a kind of burning hate that made Optimus' spark twinge painfully in his chest. "Why are you asking, Autobot?"

The way she said the word 'Autobot' confirmed a fear that Optimus didn't even know he'd possessed; his dear sparkmate, the one he vowed to protect and love with everything he had… was no longer on his side. She had betrayed him. And he had no idea why.

"Optimus!" Ultra Magnus suddenly yelled, but the Prime barely heard him. His whole body had gone numb, and his spark felt like it had shattered and was now on the floor at his feet. He was unable to comprehend anything but the fact that, for some reason, Vesper had ripped his spark out of his chest and didn't appear to be feeling any remorse for it whatsoever.

Getting struck in the head, however, seemed to knock him out of his befuddled state, and he looked around to find Ultra Magnus standing near him, hammer in hand and the conduits on his fingers exposed. Vesper was standing in front of Magnus, a horrific snarl on her normally happy face. Her single blade was revealed, but her blaster was still hidden. She didn't need it, however; with her training, she really only needed her blade and her body to be a weapon.

"Do not hurt her!" Optimus suddenly begged, getting to his feet and grabbing Ultra Magnus' arm. The warrior looked at the Prime using his peripheral vision, then shook his head once before turning back to face Vesper.

"I have no choice, sir," was the only thing that he said before Vesper jumped towards them, and Magnus quickly used his hammer to block her blade. Then he extended one of his servos – the one with the conduits exposed – and managed to brush her throat with it. That small touch was enough to send a ginormous flood of electricity through the femme, and she screamed yet again in agony before falling unconscious and collapsing. As he watched her fall, Optimus' spark broke again, but there was nothing he could do anymore.

"We have to go," Ratchet said, limping over with Alice in hand and standing next to Optimus. Bulkhead picked up Bumblebee while Wheeljack picked up the other humans. "I'm sorry, but she's no longer an Autobot."

Hearing those words made Optimus want to scream and cry, but he suppressed that and simply managed a slow, shaky nod. Then he turned on his heel and followed the others as they ran down the hallway, stopping once to look back at his sparkmate with a broken, miserable expression on his face for the briefest of minutes before following them.

It was only after they'd left that Haeres finally re-emerged. He walked over to Vesper and knelt down next to her, a devious smirk on his face. "Thank you, my dear," he breathed, even though he knew that his student couldn't hear him. "My experiment has been a wondrous success, do you not agree?"

This he said to a purple, cyclopean 'Con who strode out, and as Shockwave walked over he said, "It is logical to believe that we can apply this to the other Autobots."

Haeres nodded as he picked Vesper up and hefted her over his shoulder. "Indeed, Shockwave. But that can wait." He smiled as he walked over to the door, then stopped and looked back at the cyclopean 'Con. "After all, it will only be a matter of time before Optimus Prime returns for her."

And then, with a maniacal laugh, he walked back down the corridor, leaving Shockwave standing on the top of the _Nemesis_ alone.


End file.
